Council Chief slams red-tape accusations
Published on 27 April 2017
28 April 2017
Whanganui District Council Chief Executive Kym Fell is hitting back at claims that the Council is an overstaffed bureaucracy.
In an article published in the Wanganui Chronicle, Mary and Dean Wyley expressed their frustration at having to apply for a building consent to install automatic fire doors in their commercial building, claiming the Council was over-staffed and full of red-tape.
Mr Fell says the building consent application lodged by a contractor on behalf of the Wyleys was assessed and issued within 10 working days, which is well within the statutory 20 working days required by law.
He says implications that the Council imposed costs of more than $1000 are absolutely misleading. “The fee charged by the Council for the consent was actually $441.75. The Wyleys are complaining about the bill from their contractor and somehow this has been seen as a worthwhile headline for the front page of our daily newspaper.”
Mr Fell adds, “It was unfortunate too that the Wanganui Chronicle’s post-Anzac Day coverage and editorial built on this negative theme, turning a positive story about Whanganui’s well-organised Anzac Day commemorations into a fictional account about a supposed war with bureaucracy.”
Mr Fell says this kind of sensationalism may sell newspapers, but it completely bypasses a more important story, which is the change taking place at the Council.
He says “Whanganui District Council has undergone radical transformation in the past 12 months, with a restructure resulting in labour cost efficiencies amounting to $1.4 million per annum. This Council is more efficient, more approachable and better equipped to serve its community than it has ever been.”
“I’m absolutely ready to accept and address valid criticism, but I am not prepared to allow the progress we’ve made to be side-lined by click-bait fodder in our local media, which is not substantiated by facts.”
Mr Fell says, “Whanganui can be proud of its Council. The culture of customer service we are building is continuously improving and our processes and expertise are ahead of many councils in New Zealand. We recently won a Minister of Local Government Innovation in Asset Management Award, while our live streaming of Council meetings is arguably the most professional and cost-effective in the country.”
He says, “We have moved to an online platform for consent applications, which is just one of a substantial number of cost and time-saving initiatives and we’re currently reaching a 100 percent rate for meeting the 20 working day statutory requirement for issuing consents.”
Mr Fell says, “Almost every example of so-called bureaucratic red-tape described in recent Chronicle articles and in its April 26 editorial, references government legislation which may be required, but is not created by the Council. The new health and safety legislation, for example, is something every organisation in New Zealand must deal with proactively. Your council can help you navigate these requirements as a small business or local event organiser.”
He says, “I encourage people to engage with the Council at an early stage to ensure that they’re fully informed and to minimise unnecessary roadblocks.”
