Agenda of Regional Council - Wednesday, 23 August 2023

Table of Contents

Informal Workshop Papers

1 Long Term Plan 2024 - 2034 Activity Structure 1

Attachment 1 - FINAL Activity Structure 1

Attachment 2 - RFP - Mapping Funding Levers to Goals 1

2 Prioritisation of 2024-2034 Strategic Outcome Goals 1

Attachment 1 - BOPRC Strategic Direction 2024-2034 - July 2023 1

Attachment 2 - Three Horizons concept and examples 1

Attachment 3 - Draft Prioritisation of Goals for discussion 1

Attachment 4 - Operating context - Bubble Diagram 1

3 Activity Planning - Review of Levels of Service 1

4. Regional Infrastructure Funding

Paper to be circulated under separate cover.

5 Verbal update: LTP Consultation


Informal Workshop Paper
To:	Regional Council
	23 August 2023
From:	Olive McVicker, Corporate Performance Team Lead; Kumaren Perumal, Chief Financial Officer; Gillian Payne, Principal Advisor and Mark Le Comte, Principal Advisor, Finance
	Mat Taylor, General Manager, Corporate

Long Term Plan 2024 - 2034 Activity Structure

1. Purpose

The Council reviewed and reset the strategic direction for the 2024 – 2034 Long Term Plan (LTP) in May 2023. In response to this the Leadership Team has reviewed the activities of Council while considering the optimal activity structure to deliver on the new the strategic direction.

As a result, a revised activity structure has been developed (Attachment 1) which will be used as the basis for the activity planning, budgeting and levels of service work streams as part of the LTP process.

Alongside the development of the LTP a review of the Revenue and Funding Policy (RFP) is underway. A key step in the legislative process for a review of the RFP requires analysis at the activity level (LGA section 101(3)(a)) using the revised activity structure.

In addition, the available funding levers have been mapped to the goals in the new strategic direction (Attachment 2). This view may be used to moderate outputs from the activity level RFP assessments.

2. Guidance Sought from Councillors

To note the contents of this report and provide any feedback to staff at the workshop.

3. Discussion

3.1 New Activity Structure

The new strategic direction endorsed by Council in May 2023, identifies five strategic outcomes and 17 goals. The Leadership Team has subsequently reviewed this new strategic direction and aligned the organisations activities to enable the focus and delivery on this new direction. Two new activities have been established. They are, Freshwater Programme and Climate Change Programme Coordination.

The Local Government act 2002 (LGA) Schedule 10 defines information to be included in the LTP. This includes groups of activities, statement of service provision and funding impacts.

Where activities are related or similar in function they have been classified into a Group of Activities (GOA). Within these GOA each activity will show a 10-year plan, which includes a description of the activity, levels of service, and key projects.

The Council’s financial system general ledger has been updated to reflect the new activities. In the development of the LTP the financial information and modelling provided will reflect the revised activity structure. All financial reporting from 1 July 2024 will also be aligned to the revised activity structure.

The revised activity structure will also inform the Revenue and Financing Policy review process, which is currently at the stage of analysing how the revised activities are funded.

3.2 Funding Levers aligned to Goals

To assist in the development of the RFP the funding levers available to Council have been aligned to the goals within the new strategic direction (Attachment 2).

This view may be used to moderate outputs from the activity level RFP assessments.

4. Next Steps

Staff will incorporate any feedback on this paper into the LTP development process.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - FINAL Activity Structure ⇩

Attachment 2 - RFP - Mapping Funding Levers to Goals ⇩


Informal Workshop Paper
To:	Regional Council
	23 August 2023
From:	Kumaren Perumal, Chief Financial Officer
	Fiona McTavish, Chief Executive

Prioritisation of 2024-2034 Strategic Outcome Goals

1. Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide information to support the prioritisation of Council’s strategic outcome goals for the 2024-2034 Long Term Plan (LTP).

2. Guidance Sought from Councillors

Staff are seeking direction on how to prioritise the goals within the draft 2024-2027 Strategic Direction across time horizons so consequential prioritisation of activities and levels of service can occur.

The slides provide a proposed prioritisation of these goals using the time horizons model developed by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. The Three Horizons: a toolkit to help think and plan for the long-term is Attachment 2.

This document indicates it is your discussion and consideration that is key which is why this proposal is included in this workshop to start this conversation.

Staff are also seeking direction on the following prioritisation principles:

1. Build on the existing 3 BOPRC impact statements. These statements were developed and approved by the last council recognising where Bay of plenty can have the biggest impact.

2. Recognise the importance of fiscal responsibility and the need to achieve further organisational efficiencies - In the current climate, more than ever it is important that we are focused on this and that we are wise with our spending to maximise impact.

3. Focused Delivery of Priorities – Being agile and able to identify and deliver on the things that are most important. Focus on directing our valuable resources here is key.

4. Maintaining our Culture and High Performance levels – Maintaining the culture we have built over the past 5 years is crucial to our ability to deliver our mahi and retain key staff. A great culture is important for many reasons, in this context it is critical to keep staff engaged and motivated to do their best work and to achieve the best value for our communities.

It is expected that councillors will continue to assess priorities throughout the LTP process as there is more certainty (e.g. economic outlook for BOPRC and national election results).

3. Discussion

3.1 Background

On 10 May 2023 Council approved a draft strategic framework to guide the development of the draft LTP for public consultation in the first half of 2024 as shown in Attachment 1.

Councillors Thompson and MacMillan met with staff recently to discuss the current operating context and Councillors spending more time discussing the “so what” in relation to this context. Attached to this paper (Attachment 4) is this updated amalgamated bubble diagram for Councillors to consider and Cr Thompson to talk to.

One of the “so whats” that came out of this conversation was the need for council to prioritise how it will respond to this uncertain, complex and changing operating environment.

3.2 Three Horizons framework

The Future Generations Commissioner’s Office in Wales has developed a framework and toolkit to help public bodies make decisions that stand the test of time. Attachment 2 explains the concept and provides several examples of its use.

3.3 Draft prioritisation of goals

The Chief Executive has prepared a draft prioritisation of the goals, using the Three Horizons framework, for discussion and feedback at the workshop, refer Attachment 3.

4. Next Steps

Following direction at the workshop, Councillors’ feedback will be conveyed to staff to guide development of options for later consideration by Council.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - BOPRC Strategic Direction 2024-2034 - July 2023 ⇩

Attachment 2 - Three Horizons concept and examples ⇩

Attachment 3 - Draft Prioritisation of Goals for discussion ⇩

Attachment 4 - Operating context - bubble diagram ⇩


Informal Workshop Paper
To:	Regional Council
	23 August 2023
From:	Olive McVicker, Corporate Performance Team Lead and Kumaren Perumal, Chief Financial Officer
	Mat Taylor, General Manager, Corporate

Activity Planning - Review of Levels of Service

1. Purpose

The activity planning for the various activities has commenced for the 2024 – 2034 Long Term Plan (LTP). The purpose of this report is to inform Councillors of the high level approach to review the levels of service for each activity.

2. Guidance Sought from Councillors

To note the contents of this report and provide any feedback to staff at the workshop.

3. Discussion

3.1 Background

New Zealand is currently experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, and many are experiencing financial hardship. Council recognises this and acknowledge that as part of the 2024-2034 LTP process, current operating expenditure levels should be reviewed.

The current 2021–2031 LTP was developed in response to the impact of COVID-19 in our communities. As a result, the decision was made to utilise reserves where appropriate and have an unbalanced budget. The regional context has since changed with signals of financial hardship being experienced throughout our communities and Council’s response to develop a financially prudent LTP in consultation with the community.

3.2 Review process

In response to the current economic climate, a review process has commenced to identify potential savings for the first three years of the 2024 – 2034 LTP. This review is based on three potential scenarios:

· Scenario One: current levels of service updated to include spend to meet any new legislative requirements.

· Scenario Two: review of existing work programmes to identify what could be delayed or removed under the new strategic framework.

· Scenario Three: identify the baseline level of service, i.e. delivering to the minimum statutory requirements or agreements currently in place.

This review is being undertaken for all activities.

The results of these meetings will be quantified and incorporated into Version 1 of the LTP estimates for the draft budget. This information will be presented at the next LTP workshop in September for Council to consider and provide further direction.

4. Next Steps

Staff will incorporate any feedback on this paper into the detailed activity planning process.