Dunedin city councillor Sophie Barker talks of ships and icebergs. There is no mention of the Titanic, but the avoidance of financial or political calamity is on her mind, as well as on the minds of other people who steer the Dunedin City Council.
Cr Barker has called for more accountability, transparency and heightened scrutiny of budgets.
"We can only see the tips of icebergs, so we need to make sure we’re totally aware of what’s lurking beneath the surface" she said.
"Icebergs" included climate change and the ramifications for South Dunedin’s future, repaying debt, the cost-of-living crisis, "increases in insurance, interest and all the other shocks hitting us economically".
Pressure on rates is an ongoing concern after the council approved an annual plan for 2024-25 that included a 17.5% rates rise, and preparations loom for the 2025-34 long-term plan.
Much has been happening behind the scenes.
"Getting to grips with discovering issues and coming up with solutions takes time" Cr Barker said.
"It takes time to turn a ship around, especially one as huge as Dunedin’s council."
The way Cr Barker described it, this included digging deep on budget transparency, tracking decisions, dealing with performance management, reviewing grants, working out what was happening with Three Waters Better Off funding and adjusting governance structures.
"We’ve been working hard to concentrate on making a difference, getting more clarity on where the ship is going, and how we’re going to manage the transformation."
Most recently, deputy mayor Cherry Lucas led calls for councillors to be able to "interrogate all of the budgets more".
The council gave an undertaking the 2025-34 draft long-term plan process would include workshops with councillors on all activity budgets and these would have more granular detail.
"I think the pendulum has probably swung too far the other way — moving from too detailed to too high-level — so I had been talking to staff about the need for more transparency" she said.
The role of elected members was to set strategies and approve budgets to give staff the ability to deliver, she said.
There had been comment in recent council meetings about the need to examine service levels and operational expenditure. Cr Barker and Cr Jim O’Malley had also wanted to ensure better oversight of capital projects.
Lately, "activity reports" have re-emerged in committee agendas. Again, these offer more detail.
In June, an overhaul of governance structures for advisory groups was approved. This was aimed at generating a more consistent approach for engaging with sectors of the community and putting strategies into effect.
Cr Lee Vandervis wondered at one point if this might be an intrusion into operational matters, which are the domain of council staff.
Adjustments behind the scenes at the council this year have included tweaks to the chief executive appraisal committee.
Cr Barker said she had been pushing for stronger governance all through her nearly five years on the council.
She had been quite shocked after she joined the council by how "slack" the performance management process was and she said there was a lack of strong key performance indicators and formal, regular review meetings and feedback.
"Technically, we only have one employee, responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of spending and investment, so we need to have tight performance management" Cr Barker said.
"I’ve pushed very hard for this."
What has this all been about?
Some lack of clarity was a byproduct of the council this year deferring its 10-year plan, choosing to instead run just an annual plan for 2024-25, followed by a nine-year plan. Some renewed scrutiny is down to how high-stakes this nine-year plan will be amid cost pressures.
Perhaps a little of the governance push is a reaction. A South Island "power list" by The Press in March had council chief executive Sandy Graham ranked as high as 18 and commented she wielded significant influence while there was a "leadership vacuum among the elected arm". Mayor Jules Radich did not make the list of 50.
Some of the shift may be put down to the personnel now around the council table.
"I’m delighted that there are new councillors who are supportive of stronger governance and there is now strength for process change with a number of like-minded councillors" Cr Barker said.
"I’ve been especially pleased to work with Cr Lucas. We both have commerce backgrounds, and have both worked at council previously, so have strong insights and knowledge on best practice.
Cr Andrew Whiley said there had been a step up in governance this term by a group of elected members. More councillors, including first-term councillors, were highly engaged in the issues, he said.
Not all around the table would share a sanguine view of how the present council stacks up with previous councils, particularly as committee structures have been a thorny issue and Mr Radich has arguably not appeared to drive a clear path forward.
Cr Vandervis has also continued to sound warnings about spending levels and escalating debt.
Another potential factor in the mix is one all commentators have been silent on. It is about whether an investigation by a King’s Counsel into a conduct matter for a senior manager has made some sort of difference.
Where has the mayor been in all of this?
Cr Lucas said she believed more information produced better decisions and there was agreement about this from elected representatives and staff.
"The mayor’s role is to lead us through the challenges that we are grappling with — I know he wants us to deliver a nine-year plan that achieves a balanced budget, affordable rates and a debt level that is manageable, and I believe he is up for the task" she said.
Cr Whiley said the issues facing councillors this term were extremely challenging "and everyone is stepping up to address them head-on".
A change in government, a challenging financial position and "lots of headwinds in dealing with a wide range of issues" meant more was being demanded of councillors by the mayor and chief executive, Cr Whiley said.
Ms Graham said tough conversations were sometimes necessary and everyone had to keep in mind "the reason we’re all here — to deliver the best possible outcomes for our communities".
Mr Radich said the council’s governance and management arms had a strong working relationship.
"We are fortunate to have a diverse group of councillors, and under my leadership everyone is encouraged to ask questions and voice their opinions, which contributes to robust consideration of issues and decisions."
Returning to the ship analogy, Cr Barker saw ahead "a sea full of icebergs and a bumpy journey".
"We need to focus on better budget management, so we’re not running unbalanced budgets and increasing debt by not fully funding depreciation, as per the last three years.
"Operational budgets need to have a fine-tooth comb run through them — balancing the levels of service to the community with affordability.
"We also need to think about our city’s future — where is the ship going? What sort of city do people want to live in?"
