Coast council report reflects rocky period
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council's annual for 2021-22 shows a deficit of $1.1 million.
The council collected $8.16m in rates, while total revenue was just over $17.7m.
The report period covers a rocky time at the council, marked by ructions between governance and management through much of 2021.
In the end it saw the exit of short-time chief executive Vin Smith and the transition to current chief exeuctive Heather Mabin. At the same time, natural disasters occurred including the July 2021 Westport flood, with increased call for new flood infrastructure.
It has also had to finalise the new combined Te Tai o Poutini Plan, and accommodate a raft of legislative changes and submissions.
The annual report notes the yet to be resolved $30m claim against the council by the Scenic Circle Hotel Group relating to the March 2016 Waiho (Waiau) River flood which swept through the former Mueller Wing, just north of Franz Josef Glacier township.
The council paid its employees $6.2m in 2021-22 compared to $6.4m the previous year. Elected representatives total remuneration was $401,237.
Consultant and contractor costs rose by more than $860,000 to $3.98m, compared to $3.12m.
Mabin said on Thursday that most of that cost was related to infrastructure/construction projects the council was undertaking on behalf, and VCS pest control operations - which were outside the normal operational functions of council.
"That is not consultants we have come in here," she said.
It was an audit requirement that any service the council sought externally, such as an archive project being undertaken by Development West Coast, "must have a contract".
Mabin said internal staff cover via consultant/contractor use for operational matters had been a "very low spend" in the period.
Aircraft hire totalling $2.6m was entirely related to VCS contract work.
The report details ongoing NEMA insurance claims and disaster cost recovery. Claims for costs from the floods of February last year and flood damage to rating district assets at Franz Josef, Karamea, Taramakau and Wanganui River at Hari Hari were nearly $600,000.
Further estimated costs of $321,557 were required in the current year to complete repairs, with a further claim now lodged for $292,559.
Overall, while the audit covers the council's financial performance it also audits its statutory function performance across every service area council provides.
These include regional leadership and the TTPP, council's Resource Management Act functions, its hydrology and flood warning services, river, drainage and coastal protection, community resilience and regional transport.
Overall the council posted a deficit of $1,112,777 against a budget of $10.5m, compared to a $10.57m profit the previous year.
The main causes of the deficit were the global economic impact on council's investment portfolio and the delayed IRG 'shovel ready' infrastructure projects funded by the Government. Subsidy and grant revenue from that source was $9.5m less than budgeted due to the delay in getting the infrastructure projects off the ground. As a result, the relevant funding requests from the Government were down from an expected $11.4m to $1.5m.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
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