In mid-2022 the Chief Ombudsman announced he was carrying out an investigation into the way councils make decisions under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).

Waimakariri District Council was one of eight Councils selected to participate in this investigation.

At the time, Waimakariri District Council Chief Executive Jeff Millward said he believed it was a good idea and that the Council was happy to be a part of it because it would improve clarity and build public confidence in the sector.

Mr Millward said he believed Waimakariri was in the mix because it is one of the highest rated councils as assessed by the Local Government New Zealand Excellence programme that rated the council at the AA standard..

The Waimakariri District Council is also assessed by the Standard and Poor’s and attained an AA credit rating.

Council staff and elected members worked with the Ombudsman’s office and provided them with a wide range of information.

The Chief Ombudsman also requested that elected members, staff and the public provide feedback via a questionnaire.

In his report following the investigation, which has just been made public this month, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier applauded the Council for creating and maintaining an open culture.

He identified several practices that are going well for the Council, and some areas for improvement.

Council Chief Executive Jeff Millward says he was happy with the endorsement and confirmation that Waimakariri District Council has an open culture. He also welcomed the recommendations on how this culture and current processes can be further improved.

“We pride ourselves on having a good balance in place that manages privacy concerns and commercial sensitivity alongside being open and transparent in decision making. To hear from the Chief Ombudsman that he applauds our open culture was a great endorsement of this.

“We also welcome any opportunity to do this in a more streamlined and comprehensive way, which is why accept the recommendations from the Ombudsman around how we conduct our meetings and workshops and are already underway in implementing them.”