Waipā staff were out in force during one of the community engagement sessions earlier this year for the Ahu Ake Spatial Plan. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Waipā council will spend quarter of a million dollars more than budgeted this financial year because of a restructure in the communications team.
The annual spend will be $722,812 which includes some, but not all, contractor costs. Additional communication and engagement costs to contractors for key projects such as Ahu Ake Spatial Plan, Victoria Bridge upgrade, Cambridge Connections and Ōhaupō pedestrian crossing are paid out on top of that figure.
A council spokesperson said contractors provided advice and tasks for a range of council projects noting they were for tasks including media liaison, graphic design, photography and communication/engagement advice.
The News was tipped off to the increase when staff noted changes to the Long Term Plan adopted in 2021 for 2023-24 at the council meeting last month.
Under the heading Operating variances, Strategic Projects driver Melanie Andrews reported to councillors that elected members honorarium had gone up by $87,000.
The Remuneration Authority externally set the rate.
Other increases included interest rates and overhead expenditure. Unspent are community grants to the Cambridge Museum which is offset by increases to the Te Awamutu Safer and Waipā community charitable trusts.
A grant to the Waikato Biodiversity Forum has been redeployed to next financial year.
Communication and engagement had increased by nearly $223,000, said Andrews in her report to councillors.
A Waipā spokesperson said the council had engaged with the community over a number of issues which resulted in additional costs.
They included suggestions on dog policy bylaw, cemetery plans, waste minimisation, playgrounds, fees and charges, reserves, Cambridge and Kihikihi pathways.
Ahu Ake – the spatial plan – was by far the biggest, she noted.
The council has used Beca Group’s in-staff communications advisor, a former staffer at the council for that project.
The communications team was restructured in August 2021 to address workload pressures and clarify roles, responsibilities and priorities and to meet increasing demands for community engagement, said the spokesperson.
“The restructure added a communications and engagement advisor, and a communication and engagement team leader, bringing team numbers from six to eight. It also included grade increases for some positions and allowed for market salary movements over the last three years.”
Since May last year there has not been a time when all roles have been filled and many are still vacant.
The News understands a new Communications and Engagement manager – Hawke’s Bay based Lisa Nairne – starts next month. Her previous experience includes nearly eight years in communications at Taupō District Council and a previous two-year stint as a senior communications advisor at Waipā from 2011.
Consultants have been used to back fill positions in the communications team while there were vacancies.
- The print version of this story left out the word Museum after Cambridge in reference to unpaid community grants.
