The latest report of local government excellence programme CouncilMARK™ has been released today for Tararua District Council. The report and more information on CouncilMARK™ can be found here.

Tararua District Council’s CouncilMARK™ report shows the council has good financial management in place, which has enabled them to be innovative in their approach to the challenge of a declining population.

The report also says that the Council needs more structured thinking and cohesiveness with a clearer strategy for medium term goals, and that while they have a strong employee base, the council needs to implement an HR strategy and further develop both staff and elected members through training and professional development.

CouncilMARK™ was launched in August 2016 with 18 councils signed up for the inaugural year. This report is the twenty-third to be released.

Each of the 23 reports released to date reflect the different issues and circumstances faced by councils but common findings highlight the linkage between sound governance, overall performance and prudent financial planning across the sector.

Reports also identified councils’ focus on improvement through stronger training for elected members and embedding stronger compliance monitoring and enforcement for environmental issues.

LGNZ President Dave Cull says CouncilMARK™ offers councils and communities an independent assessment of how a council is performing, including areas of excellence and where it could find improvements.

“CouncilMARK™ provides incredibly valuable information that can help councils with how they operate, what they’re getting right and where they can afford to put greater energy. And it gives communities the same information, allowing them an independent view of the work their local councils are doing,” Mr Cull says.

“I congratulate Tararua District Council for showing leadership by joining the CouncilMARK™ excellence programme and on the completion of their first assessment.”

“As a sector we understand we need to constantly show and grow our performance, and CouncilMARK™ offers an excellent opportunity to work towards that. LGNZ congratulates all councils to have participated in the programme so far and looks forward to the participation of all remaining councils.”

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CouncilMARK™ releases new report for Tararua District Council

The Independent Assessment Board which oversees CouncilMARK™, the local government excellence programme, has today released a report containing ratings and assessments for Tararua District Council.

IAB Chair Toby Stevenson says the CouncilMARK™ report, which can be found here, measures indicators across leadership, finance, asset management, service delivery and community engagement.

“The report has been completed by independent assessors under the direction of the board, and offers an independent assessment of the council’s performance in key areas, providing valuable information to the council and its community. Measuring performance means councils can assess how to better deliver ongoing and increased value to ratepayers,” says Mr Stevenson.

CouncilMARK™ was launched in August 2016 with 18 councils signed up for the inaugural year. This report is the twenty-third report to be released so far.

Mr Stevenson says the reports are designed to give councils and communities an informed and independent view on how they are carrying out their roles, including where they are excelling and areas for improvement.

“CouncilMARK™ has been designed to improve the public's knowledge of the work councils are doing in their communities and to support individual councils to further improve the service and value they provide to all New Zealanders,” he says.

Mr Stevenson says the focus is now on the programme’s third year and participation of all remaining councils.

“The more councils that embark on CouncilMARK™, the greater its impact will be in promoting continuous improvement and a stronger reputation for the whole sector, which greatly benefits our country.”

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