Organisational review key to QLDC's operations, Feeley says

Queenstown Lakes District Council organisational review which begins today is chief executive Adam Feeley's ''No 1 priority''.

''Everything else takes a back seat to that, because everything else on my list can't be dealt with until I have the type of organisation that can deal with these problems,'' Mr Feeley told the Wanaka Residents Association annual meeting last week.

The goal of the review of QLDC activities was to develop a more efficient organisation which had greater cost effectiveness, better skills and capabilities, and that met the expectations of all communities within the district, Mr Feeley said.

He acknowledged the review, which included covering the activities of more than 230 staff, could result in redundancies. But rather than being purely a ''slash and burn exercise'', it was geared at producing motivated staff and giving the public an organisation which was easy to deal with.

The review would also look at the operational processes of the council's regulatory arm, Lakes Environmental, and the ongoing suitability - in terms of cost, efficiency and effectiveness - of the ''council controlled organisation'' model, and any alternatives for service delivery. Mr Feeley later told the Otago Daily Times a draft report on the review was expected in mid-March, and the final report should be ready in April.

Also high on Mr Feeley's to-do list, was completing a review of QLDC camping grounds, which were ''losing money hand over fist'', water demand management, improving the council's IT systems so the public could do more online and addressing concerns about the specifications of the Wanaka Sports Facility.

-lucy.ibbotson@odt.co.nz