Annual Report 2008

The 2007/08 year has been busy and challenging for Greater Wellington.

Download the Annual Report 2008(PDF, 3.89MB)

Financial pressures from increasing international oil prices made managing our budgets all the more challenging and signalled the impact that increasing energy costs will have on our organisation. We will need to set clear priorities and have a dogged determination to minimise costs – but continue to deliver high-quality services to our region’s ratepayers.

However, there is some good news. Greater Wellington has responsibility for significant assets, valued at about $1 billion. Our annual operating budget is about $160 million. Last year, despite turbulent times, we delivered our outputs slightly under budget. This was a fine effort by everybody involved.

At Greater Wellington we put great emphasis on teamwork. The senior management team completed its second year since the restructure, and it’s pleasing to see team members working well together and learning to complement each other’s strengths.

Greater Wellington has also always enjoyed a positive relationship between elected Councillors and staff. This has been founded on mutual trust and respect as we all strive to deliver the best possible outcomes for the communities we serve. A new Council was elected this year – and it has been good to develop new relationships, and get new perspectives and approaches to our work.

Making Greater Wellington Greater is the organisation’s development programme to create an organisation that leads and delivers. A new initiative from this is Greater Managers – a tailor made comprehensive management development programme to increase our capabilities to help make the organisation greater. The senior management team, including myself, has just embarked on this and others will soon follow.

Another part of Making Greater Wellington Greater has been investing in the Gallup Employee Engagement Survey. A strength of the Gallup methodology is it acknowledges the power of teams within organisations. It provides a basis for meaningful conversations between managers and their staff based on improving our working environments, as engaged staff help to make a successful organisation. Gallup reinforces that we’re all in this together and that all staff contribute to our success. I am strongly committed to the survey and the benefits it will bring to Greater Wellington.

One of the goals of Making Greater Wellington Greater is to increase the organisation’s capacity. This year we made good progress with our human resources strategy. An essential part of our success comes from recruiting and retaining a team of high-performing people, all aligned to a set of common values and principles. We have also developed our health and safety framework to ensure it aligns with best practice. I’m delighted that we have now achieved primary level in the ACC Workplace Safety Management Practices programme.

A major part of my role as Chief Executive involves building strong relationships with other organisations. Particularly important are those that Greater Wellington has with the region’s cities and districts. The region’s Chief Executives’ Group has worked very well this year and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my counterparts for their commitment to making this happen. Relationships with central government are also important so that all organisations understand each other’s perspectives and business imperatives.

Everything we do as a regional council contributes to enhancing our region’s sustainability. When I walk around our organisation I see a team of people committed to improving sustainability, both within our organisation and throughout our region. I feel a mixture of pride and humility when I see their dedication, knowledge and skills.

It’s important at times to appreciate that much of what we do is for the benefit of future generations. This year one of my sons got married. While that made me feel older, it also brought home to me the strength and potential of the next generation, and the responsibilities that my generation has to them and the world they will inherit from us. This is what motivates me to do what I do at Greater Wellington.

Dave Benham
Chief Executive