Community Plan Forum

Monday 14 August 2017

Raymond Horan, Manager Sector Improvement, Taituarā

An introductory exercise get you talking to the people at your table and at other tables.

Raymond Horan, Manager Sector Improvement, Taituarā

LTP year (if there is such a thing) has commenced, so to begin the Forum, Raymond will provide a few reminders of the areas of focus, some things to remember and a few things to think about.

Table Top Discussions:

As of today, where’s your 2018 LTP project at?

What’s keeping you awake at night?

What’s been smoother sailing than you expected?

What are your top three issues?

11.00 am Cellphone Clearance Break (Morning Tea)

Dr Ganesh Nana, Executive Director, BERL

Local authority plans have a very strong economic underpinning. Who better than New Zealand’s leading economic forecaster to talk about the direction of the New Zealand economy heading in the short-medium term, and the challenges and risks?

Ree Anderson, Director, Ree Anderson Consulting Limited

David Totman, Principal Advisor, Waipa District Council

Richard Hughes, Principal Specialist Auckland Plan Implementation, Auckland Council

There’s a lot on with spatial planning, including potentially Taituarā dipping its toes in the water. This panel will share progress on the various initiatives in progress, talk about the benefits for all councils, and reflect on different approaches

1.00 pm Lunch

Choose one from:

• a. Early Engagement on an LTP – an example from Tasman District Council
  Susan Edwards, Community Development Manager, Tasman District Council and Sharon Flood, Strategic Policy Manager, Tasman District Council

This year Tasman District Council decided not to engage the community on its 2017/8 annual plan. Rather than letting the opportunity pass them by, Tasman decided to engage the community on the issues and topics it expected the LTP might traverse. This presentation provides a practical example of what successful early engagement on an LTP might look like and will get you sharing your own experiences with early engagement

• b. Resilience Thinking and the LTP
  Andrew Martin, Director, Rethink Consulting

Ask most people what they think of when they hear the term ‘resilience’ and most will give you and answer that revolves around the ‘traditional disaster preparedness and recovery’. This session will bring attention and awareness to the greater meaning of 'resilience' within a local government/local community context; and the need for this to be incorporated into long term planning. You’ll leave this session with a broader understanding of the challenges (and solutions) that will impact local government in coming years. Economic, energetic and environmental considerations will be factored in and integrated into a dynamic, engaging and memorable session.

• c. Things for the Taituarā BIM and Tuning up the Engine Document
  Raymond Horan, Manager Sector Improvement, Taituarā

With the general election, Taituarā will be preparing a Briefing for the Incoming Minister and a document setting out things that might go on the list for legislative change. This is your chance to get all those niggly “gee I wish we could change that” issues on the table.

Choose one from:

• a. Early Engagement on an LTP – an example from Tasman District Council
  Susan Edwards, Community Development Manager, Tasman District Council and Sharon Flood, Strategic Policy Manager, Tasman District Council

A re-run of the session that runs at 1.45pm.

• b. Resilience Thinking and the LTP
  Andrew Martin, Director Rethink Consulting

A re-run of the session that runs at 1.45pm.

• c. Future Engagement: Is the Way We Do Things Fit for the Future?
  Raymond Horan, Manager Sector Improvement, Taituarā

A cross-working party team is looking at current and future trends and their implications for the way the sector engages with its communities. This session will be an interactive road-test of the thinking the group has done to date.

Elizabeth Hughes, Director, Strategy & Communication

Many of you will be thinking about your consultation documents, how you identify key messages, the look and feel of the document. Elizabeth will provide some practical tips from the perspective of someone who has written CDs and helped others write them.

4.40 pm Planning for Migration in your Community
Nenad Petrovic, Population Forecaster & Consultant, .id

Migration is a huge challenge for those forecasting population change. Current unprecedented immigration levels combine with an already highly mobile population to present a changing picture for planners to scratch their heads over. However, the national story can sometimes be very different to what happens locally. This brief session will discuss some of the influences on immigration and internal migration that can shape your community.

5.10 pm Summing Up

Tuesday 15 August 2017

9.00 am Welcome to Day Two

Chris Wilson, Senior Advisor Sector Improvement, Taituarā

The annual update on all of Taituarā’s good works, including an update on the progress of the Planning Working Party (which now has the oversight of Taituarā’s work in strategic planning and planning under the LGA and RMA).

Three of the best from the 2017 engagement stories (note: these presentations follow one after the other).

The Draft Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan
Rachel McClung, Senior Policy Analyst, Waimakariri District Council

The Red Zone Recovery Plan identifies how 100 hectares of residential red zoned land will be used. Developing a credible plan with community support was a mission critical task for the council. The council’s engagement with the community features a new approach to engaging that has applications for literally any planning process.

The Draft Waimakariri Red Zone Recovery Plan was the winner of the 2017 McGredy Winder Supreme Award for Excellence in Local Government Management and the winner of the Innovation in Council Community Relations Category.

Education Horowhenua

Gary Good, Co-Chair Education Horowhenua and Joshua Wharton, Community Development Advisor , Horowhenua District Council

This is a story of a council and community working together to address an issue of pressing concern, but that some might view as outside the role of local government. The council and community have taken an approach that might be described as ‘it takes a village’ to make a real difference to educational outcomes. This is one for those wanting some practical ideas for bringing the community and voluntary sector, the private sector and others ‘to the table’.

10.50 am Dogs of the Western Bay

Alison Curtis, Compliance & Monitoring Manager and Emily Rogers, Policy & Planning Manager, Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Dog control policies and bylaws can be amongst the hottest of ‘hot button issues in the community’. Alison and Emily will tell a story of a young homeless pup and how he and Western Bay made the dog control policy fun, accessible and easy to digest.

Education Horowhenua and Dogs of the Western Bay were joint runners up in the Innovation in Council Community Relations Category of the 2017 McGredy Winder Taituarā Excellence Awards.

11.20 am An inclusive approach to the Annual Budget consultation. Auckland Council – Citizen Engagement and Insights team

Angeline Barlow , Citizen and Customer Engagement Manager , Auckland Council

With a rapidly growing diverse population, the council needed to find ways to improve its reach, particularly with ethnic communities who rarely engage. This case study tells how through a targeted and focused approach as well as keeping community at the forefront of thinking, improvements can be made. There are no surprises that equally integral to successful engagement is the development and on-going commitment to community partnerships. Great things can be achieved when everyone is on the same page and has the same goal for their communities. This study also reminds us that regardless of ethnic background it is important to all our communities that their opinions and views are valued by decision-makers and is also a key factor to fostering a strong sense of belonging.

Raymond Horan, Manager Sector Improvement, Taituarā

Changes made as part of the 2014 amendments to the Local Government Act mean that hearings in drafty halls can be a thing of the past. This session will serve both as a reminder and an opportunity to share ideas.

Table Top Discussion

Has your local authority given any thought as to how it will ‘interact with the public in spoken or New Zealand language format’ with the coming LTP? If not, then how did your local authority handle this at its most recent Annual Plan discussion?

Hugh Jory, Sector Manager - Local Government, Office of the Auditor-General

And to finish, a session informing and reminding you what you can expect from your audit provider, and the Office of the Auditor-General over the next 319 days. Including financial and infrastructure strategies, the consultation documents and other things that the auditors look for when they are auditing the future