Rotorua council not delivering on goals – survey

4:37 pm on 7 February 2020

New data suggests most people do not feel Rotorua is moving towards its 2030 goals, and only 30 percent of people feel they can participate in decision-making.

Aerial view of Rotorua.

Aerial view of Rotorua. Photo: Felix Desmarais / LDR

The 2030 goals were seven goals described in council documents as "the blueprint to position Rotorua as a place people choose to live, work, play and invest" and set the long-term direction for the district.

Identified in 2013, the goals related to recreation, inner-city revitalisation, business, housing, community development, employment and the environment.

The data was reported in the council's non-financial KPI quarterly review report at a council operations and monitoring committee meeting on Wednesday.

It was gathered from people who had used council services between 1 July and 30 September last year.

The report also reviewed how the council was performing in non-financial areas such as arts and culture, roading, waste management, sports and recreation and community leadership.

Thirty-one percent of people felt Rotorua Lakes Council was "delivering and moving towards 2030 goals" and 32 percent of people felt the council kept the community well-informed and 30 percent felt they could participate in decision-making.

That fell short of the council's stated goals in those areas, which was more than 60 percent, 60 percent and 36 percent respectively.

In the meeting, councillor Reynold Macpherson asked what steps were being taken to improve the levels of satisfaction and confidence, describing them as "modest".

Governance and partnership manager Oonagh Hopkins, who prepared the report, said the results were "tending to track in a positive direction".

"With the look of the new priorities and how that piece of work unfolds we would be looking at seeing how progress towards those 2030 goals unfolds within that piece of work."

Mayor Steve Chadwick said national confidence in governance was 28 percent.

"It's really not good. So it's a big challenge for us as a council about that community engagement and confidence in our future direction.

"We've got to do more together to lift that confidence and it's, I think, when we work together that [residents] see, 'oh good, [councillors] are all in the same boat, this is good, going in the same direction'."

The 2030 goals were described in council documents as the "blueprint to position Rotorua as a place people choose to live, work, play and invest".

Asked for further information on the report on Friday, a spokeswoman for Rotorua Lakes Council said the people able to answer the questions were on leave.

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