I've heard terms like the ORC flies under the radar, or lacks visibility outside Dunedin. While that might be the perception of some, I don't believe our effectiveness should be measured by how many shop facings we have with the ORC logo emblazoned on them.
It's easy during an election campaign to make sweeping generalisations about the efficiency and competence of our councillors and staff. It's another thing altogether to look past the headline-grabbing opportunities and delve deeply into our work and the good we do for our region.
Our staff numbers just 140, among the smallest of regional councils in New Zealand compared with the population we service. Of those 140, we have staff based out of Alexandra, Cromwell, Wanaka, Balclutha, Taieri, Oamaru and Palmerston, as well as in our head office in Dunedin. They are hardworking and dedicated and they care deeply about Otago.
As a regional council, we exist for the benefit of the region as a whole, not one or two districts within it. This is a value that we as councillors sign up to when we're sworn in at the beginning of each triennium. As such, our activities range from being regional in nature, like setting policies and plans, to activities carried out in specific locations.
For a council our size, I think we're doing a pretty good job balancing the resources that we have to spread around the region. Rates from the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago areas make up just one quarter of our general rates collected - about $3million last year. The amount of expenditure the area received from that was almost $5million.
We manage flood protection schemes in Alexandra and the Shotover that protect people in parts of Alexandra, Queenstown and Glenorchy, and their houses and livelihoods. We developed some of the early walking tracks providing access to water, down the Arrow River at Arrowtown, the Wanaka to Glendhu Bay track in Wanaka, and the Clyde to Alexandra on the banks of the Clutha.
We analyse hazards and co-ordinate civil defence emergency management to help reduce the impact of a natural disaster.
We carry out state of environment (SOE) monitoring of water and air quality with 30 sites across the two districts - that's 40% of our combined SOE network. This data helps us understand what's happening in our environment and develop plans to maintain or improve the quality of our natural resources. It was this monitoring that contributed to the big lakes receiving the most stringent thresholds for contaminant loss in our regional water plan.
In addition to our SOE monitoring, we also carry out targeted water quality and quantity studies in both districts. Recent examples include bio-energetic modelling of fish in the Clutha, groundwater storage in Cardrona, and targeted water quality studies in Hawea Flat.
We've worked with those in Central Otago and Arrowtown to co-ordinate and fund the warm homes/clean air projects and our efforts to tackle problematic air quality issues are ongoing, such as investigating the practicality of using modern technologies to reduce harmful smoke emissions.
Our environmental officers are out and about every day checking landowner compliance with Otago's water and pest plans. We have recently funded an additional $273,000 for wallaby control in the region and we recently announced funding for community pest control projects in Makarora and Wakatipu.
We are currently working with more than 450 ``deemed permit'' holders, the vast majority of whom are in Central Otago, who need to transition their permit to take water to an RMA consent before 2021.
We are supporting stakeholders in the control and removal of lagarosiphon in Lakes Wanaka, Wakatipu and Dunstan as well as the Kawarau River.
We've put nearly $1million into feasibility studies for water storage in the Tarras and Manuherikia catchments, all of which came from rates from all over the region.
Is there more the community would like us to be doing? Maybe, but that's the beauty of local government. You have the opportunity to tell us through our annual and long-term planning processes. I encourage you to take an interest in what we're up to and get engaged. Talk to your councillors, make a submission, and let us know more about what you want to see for this region we're all proud to call home.
