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Auckland, September 12, 2022
The main goal for Mayoral candidate Craig Lord is to turn Auckland Council into a world-leading provider of core services. He is clear with his position that the Council’s job is to be a service provider. To achieve this, Council needs a new style of leadership with new procedures and a new way of communicating with the people.
One of the first roles that must be done is to create a Core Services Strategy Document (CSS).
This document will be created with feedback from the different regions across Auckland, to garner the needs that each unique area requires.
Following that, every single department needs to be audited for efficiency and financial prudence. This will be achieved by instigating the recommendations of the 2009 Royal Commission, engaging an Independent Performance and Services Review Auditor – the ultimate watchdog for the citizens of Auckland.
The new Mayor and Councillors will be given a hospital pass in 2022. The financial recovery required after Covid and the CRL cost blowouts will require a common sense and somewhat brutal attitude to the city finances.
Revamping Procurement
Vanity and pet projects will need to be put on hold, and a total focus will need to be placed on providing necessities over niceties. This is why Lord wants to completely revamp the Preferred Contractor Procurement system.
Currently, a select few contractors receive contracts to maintain and develop Auckland, but he wants to see this work handed to local contractors who will be able to work for their local areas. This will provide many benefits.
Firstly, it will dramatically reduce the yearly expenditure, meaning Council needs fewer funds for its operating costs. That in turn affects the rates bill to Aucklanders by reducing the need to increase the yearly fees.
Secondly, it allows the circle of the economy to work within Auckland, the spend can be shared around, and it becomes an extension of “buying local”.
Lastly, it will bring pride and quality to the workmanship. Local contractors will have “skin in the game” by looking after their own region, which will remove low-quality work, meaning a better overall outcome for Aucklanders. To get this system working properly, Lord wants to engage the Local Boards, to utilise their local knowledge.
Promoting Local Boards
Local Boards have been a focus of Lord’s campaign, as he believes they are one of the most important roles in the Auckland Council operations. As the conduit between the residents and the head office, Local Boards need to be empowered and financed better.
But he is also aware of a major issue with the Local Board system. Many residents have little knowledge of what they do, who is on them, and how to get hold of them.
To solve this problem, Lord will initiate a new system where the Boards go to the people, rather than waiting for the people to go to them. This will be done with “pop-up” sites at Malls, Village Squares, Libraries, Supermarkets and Retirement Villages.
Over time, with regular Pop-ups, the populace will learn about the Boards, which will enable better engagement with the communities, allowing Council to provide better services.
Changing the CCO Culture
From feedback across the last four years, Lord is aware of the many frustrations for Auckland residents, with the Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) called Auckland Transport being a major one. This is why he will utilise the internal tools made available to the Mayor which will enable a fundamental change in CCO operations.
The Appointments and Performance Review Committee and the CCO Oversight Committee allow the Council to control the operations, but sadly they have not been used as designed. Lord is adamant that this will no longer be the case.
Another of the systems that Lord wishes to change is the mannerism behind community engagement. The ‘Have Your Say” consultation process is designed to supply predetermined outcomes which are not how a Council should operate. The residents need a better voice and need to be listened too.
Lord believes that right now, there needs to be a redirection of funds towards priorities. Council needs to cease its spending on unsafe and nonsensical cycleways, stop spending millions on tiny concrete walkways through parks and instead focus on more important items.
Craig Lord is a Candidate for the Auckland Mayorality. The above article was sent to Indian Newslink.
