City Property . . . .

### ODT Online Sat, 10 Jun 2017
Property boss quits
By Chris Morris
The man in charge of the Dunedin City Council’s multimillion-dollar property portfolio has quit following a review by independent auditor Deloitte. [A] Council spokesman ….yesterday confirmed city property manager Kevin Taylor resigned last week. [DCC] responding to Otago Daily Times questions by email, declined to say what Deloitte’s review had found, insisting the final report was “still being considered”. The development came three months after the ODT reported the department responsible for property worth hundreds of millions of dollars was being reviewed ….The role was expected to change in future, with a “specific focus” on community and civic properties ….Mr Taylor’s departure was the latest upheaval for the city property department, following the departure of former city property manager Robert Clark in 2014, and his assistant manager, Rhonda Abercrombie, the following year.
Read more

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### ODT Online Fri, 10 Mar 2017
Council’s property department under review
By Chris Morris
The performance of the Dunedin City Council’s city property department is under the scrutiny of an independent auditor. It was confirmed yesterday Deloitte had been called in to examine the department responsible for property worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It is understood the review’s focus was on the department’s performance, and any suggestion of impropriety has been ruled out. Deloitte has been brought in to provide extra resources for the review, but city property manager Kevin Taylor has been replaced in the day-to-day running of the department.
Read more

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### ODT Online Tue, 15 Sep 2015
Property manager quits DCC
By Chris Morris
Dunedin City Council manager Rhonda Abercrombie has resigned abruptly, but nobody is prepared to say why. Mrs Abercrombie, the council’s assistant city property manager, handed in her notice last week but was no longer working at the council’s Civic Centre building.
Read more

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### ODT Online Tue, 29 Apr 2014
Quick exit for another DCC senior manager
By Debbie Porteous
Another senior manager is to have a quick exit from the Dunedin City Council after the announcement yesterday of his departure. Economic development and property group manager Robert Clark will clear his desk on Friday. He is returning to the commercial sector after six years with the council. Mr Clark’s withdrawal from the organisation comes after a proposal was circulated to staff last month in which his position was effectively disestablished, his responsibilities split between new positions to be created under a new council operating structure. The structure was developed by chief executive Dr Sue Bidrose in a review of the council’s property and economic development operations.
Read more

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Manager Economic Development and Property moving on
This item was published on 28 Apr 2014
The Dunedin City Council’s Group Manager Economic Development and Property Robert Clark is leaving the organisation after six years to return to the commercial sector. General Manager Infrastructure and Networks Tony Avery says Mr Clark’s last day at the DCC will be on Friday, although he will continue to do transitional consulting work in the coming months on some significant projects.
Read more

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For some weeks, independently of today’s news, the Dunedin grapevine has been rattling (autumn leaves) with tales of the missing City Property reserves, worth millions.

WHAT, you say. Noooooo.

Let’s hope our elected representatives are onto it.
Historical, it appears.

Thus the shadow boxing about town: raising all the circular questions of who and how, historically.

New blood to a system is supposed to flush out nasties, this takes hard analysis of past annual reports and investments, and of ‘figures’ present and correct —or not. Anything strange or unseemly, a mere whiff of stray fur, should be swiftly signalled to the chief executive for immediate independent audit, especially if to do with a property division.

The age-old question for local government continues to be: if you’re not a business person, how do you smell rats in your balance sheets and upon whom do you rely for sound advice, internally and externally, for the health and solid whereabouts of your ratepayer funds and assets. Indeed, without this staunch critical oversight how on earth can a council operate or even run its companies.

And how do you screen applicants; and monitor job performance.
Without great gaping holes in the cheese and skirtings, People!

[pennlive.com]

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Related Post and Comments:
A selection only. Some comments or links to related posts under these post titles are very telling in the collective sense.
26.2.17 No news : Appointment of Group CFO
14.2.17 DCC not Delta #EpicFail : Wall Street falsehoods and a world class debt
22.1.17 DCC LGOIMA Response : Wall Street Mall and Town Hall Complex
9.9.16 Calvert on DCC, ‘We could have a much more democratic and transparent operation of council’
12.8.16 DCC trifecta : openness, transparency, accountability —All dead?
10.6.16 g’bye & ’ello [GCFO resigns]
3.12.15 DCC factory crew issues, ELT, CEO….
16.11.15 DCC operating deficit $1M worse than budget
6.11.15 DCC non compos mentis
8.9.15 DCC Citifleet: Council steered off SFO investigation
17.3.15 DCC whistleblowing —what is open government ?
23.2.15 Wall Street Mall drops glazing panel to George Street
29.12.14 DCC gets QLDC talent…. the weft and warp deviously weaves
18.12.14 DCC: Deloitte report released on Citifleet
18.9.14 DCC considers sale of “149 properties”
15.9.14 Cull’s council spent the cash
11.9.14 DCTL: New treasury manager
8.9.14 Jim Harland and the stadium MESS
1.9.14 DCC Fraud: Further official information in reply to Cr Vandervis
28.4.14 DCC loses City Property manager in restructuring
28.8.14 DCC: Tony Avery resigns
22.8.14 DCC: Deloitte report referred to the police #Citifleet
31.7.14 DCC: Services and development #staffappointment
3.7.14 Stuff: Alleged vehicle fraud at DCC
1.7.14 DCC: Far-reaching fraud investigation Citifleet
3.6.14 DCC unit under investigation
2.5.14 DCC $tar-ship enterprise
24.1.14 Stadium: It came to pass . . .
28.12.13 Sue Bidrose, DCC chief executive
18.11.13 DCC: New chief executive
24.9.13 DCC chief executive Paul Orders recommended for Cardiff
14.10.13 DCC: New chief financial officer
7.9.13 Stadium: $266 million, more or less?
2.8.13 DCC, Stadium —sorry picture
24.7.13 DCC / DCHL shake up !!!
4.7.13 Carisbrook: DCC losses
25.5.13 Paul Orders: Dunedin or Cardiff ???
11.5.13 Stadium: Truth, usual whitewash or prosecution ?
21.3.13 DCC: Opportunity created by Stephens’ departure
20.11.12 Dunedin City Council vs Anzide Properties decision: The road “has no legal basis”
31.10.12 Dunedin City Council – all reports posted, belatedly!
26.10.12 DCHL borrowed $23 million to bail DCC
22.8.12 Mr Orders, sir! About your staff expertise…
9.6.12 City Property to compete more obviously in the market (their excuse: PPP)
4.5.12 Who was it – Malcolm Farry? Peter Brown?…
9.11.11 Paul Orders for change!
17.9.11 Paul Orders starts Monday
19.5.11 Information received today
29.12.10 Jim Harland
29.10.10 DCC Chief Executive resigns – timing is everything!
16.8.10 Dunedin City Council security for borrowings
29.7.10 Dunedin social housing
12.6.10 DCC Media Release – CEO salary and performance
18.5.09 Mayor Peter Chin: ‘not about social housing’

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

DCC LTAP 2016/17 budget discussion #ultrahelpfulhints

ODT 19.1.16 (page 6)

Comment at ODT Online:

Still on about ‘rising ground water’
Submitted by flatout on Thu, 21/01/2016 – 8:05am.

When will you…Dave…and the council admit it was a lack of mainenance that caused the flooding in Dunedin? Stop blaming climate change and rising ground water. Stop talking about high cost plans of moving South Dunedin and buying properties. Stop your endless council staff meetings about the issue of ‘what to do with South Dunedin’. Do maintenance on the stormwater. Do invest in South Dunedin to keep it a place to live and work in. All you need to do is clear drains and stormwater system that has coped with worse floods in the past…1968 for example.

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REMOVE THE IRRITANT

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

University calling Property Services

The University of Otago has expensive real estate and facilities at Dunedin, substantial numbers of heritage and modern buildings, tracts of housing, halls of residence and colleges, a space programme and a campus master plan. The university always has some sort of building and construction work going on most of the time.

The Property Services Division, headed by Barry MacKay (pictured), states its raison d’être as:

“We create, develop and maintain the Otago campuses in a way that inspires and supports excellence in all that experience them. We’re proud to support the ongoing academic mission of New Zealand’s first university by providing the best facilities, services and physical environment in which staff, students and the general public can learn, teach, live and play. From overseeing the design and construction of award-winning buildings, fixing broken light bulbs, booking office space, cutting the grass and trimming hedges, we’re the highly-trained men and women who help keep the five University of Otago campuses humming.”
http://www.otago.ac.nz/propertyservices/index.html

Despite the amazing upbeat veneer of professionalism and competence….

Imagine the university’s shrill consternation over an ‘outstanding’ Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) —for work to Aquinas Hall in 2008.

Just this week the university started contacting members of the local building fraternity…. confusing particular builds and industry players, with SO MUCH BLAMING and, decidedly, no track of its own on which relevant project or missing CCC….

Turns out, the Stage 2 Aquinas job had been project managed by the university. Property Services should’ve called Property Services.

Too many light bulbs need to be changed. Not enough energy, Mr MacKay, put into your project management systems.

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█ A code compliance certificate is a formal statement issued under section 95 of the Act, that building work carried out under a building consent complies with that building consent.

Code compliance certificates – Ministry of Business …
http://www.building.govt.nz/bofficials-code-compliance-cert

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Related Posts and Comments:
28.3.15 University of Otago landscaping
24.7.13 University: Leith flood protection scheme and landscaping
● 31.5.13 University of Otago development plans [see latest comments]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cr Vandervis on DCC project budgets

Received.
Sat, 16 May 2015 at 11:39 p.m.

via Malcolm Dixon’s Facebook page [link to Build Dunedin]
https://www.facebook.com /malcolm.dixon.528/posts/10152926652873106

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[screenshot]

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Related Posts and Comments:
7.5.15 DCC Draft LTP 2015/16-2024/25 —public submissions online
28.3.15 DCC Draft LTP 2015/16 to 2024/25 —CONSULTATION OPEN
25.3.15 DCC Long Term Plan: Green-dyed chickens home to roost
14.1.15 DCC Draft Long Term Plan: more inanity from Cull’s crew pending

█ For more about DCC and Cr Lee Vandervis, enter *vandervis* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC Draft LTP 2015/16-2024/25 —public submissions online

PUBLIC FEEDBACK

You are able to search by submitter or subject/topic and view the details of the submission received by the Dunedin City Council to the DRAFT Long Term Plan 2015/16-2024/25.

The submissions are listed in alphabetical order of surname first.

█ Go to: http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/your-council/draft-long-term-plan-2015-2016/public-submissions

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Related Posts and Comments:
28.3.15 DCC Draft LTP 2015/16 to 2024/25 —CONSULTATION OPEN
25.3.15 DCC Long Term Plan: Green-dyed chickens home to roost
14.1.15 DCC Draft Long Term Plan: more inanity from Cull’s crew pending

DCC Draft Long Term Plan 2015/16 to 2024/25 —CONSULTATION OPEN

There is no SMALL CITY in this image.
Guess we haven’t started building yet. When we do it will take consolidated council debt to way over the existing +$600M which, of course, Mayor Liability Cull is already bleakly and ‘creatively’ responsible for.

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Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Long Term Plan Consultation Document Unveiled

This item was published on 27 Mar 2015

‘Building a Great Small City’, the consultation document for the DCC’s Long Term Plan (LTP) 2015/16 – 2024/25, has been released.

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says the LTP is designed to enable the Council to examine the bigger picture and set a strategic direction for the city covering the whole range of DCC activities. Now priorities have been proposed, the Council wants to hear from residents.

The consultation document is now available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/ltp
Public consultation on the LTP opens on Saturday (today) and closes at 5pm on 28 April. People are encouraged to provide their feedback early and, if possible, use the online form.

A snapshot of what is proposed, presented in a map fold newsletter, will be delivered to every Dunedin household. Once consultation has started, there will be further information on the DCC website and copies of the LTP consultation document will be available at DCC facilities such as libraries and the Customer Services Agency in the Civic Centre. There will also be public workshops and LTP stands in public places and at events, with the opportunity for face-to-face discussion with Councillors. These will be held around the wider city during the consultation period.

For the first time, comments on the DCC Facebook page and tweets to @DnCityCouncil using #LTP will also be considered as feedback.

█ 28.3.15 ODT: Council accepts social media feedback

Mr Cull says, “The LTP allows us to look at the aspirations outlined in our strategy documents and how we should prioritise these over the next 10 years. This means the LTP needs to balance our financial goals, such as debt reduction, and our desire to develop Dunedin to make it a more attractive place to live and do business. Our Financial Strategy imposes a 3% rate increase limit unless there are exceptional circumstances. This is in line with the average 3% ‘cost of living’ increases faced by local government. Under current proposals, an overall 3.8% rate increase is proposed for 2015/16. The exceptional circumstances are that, in addition to our usual inflationary pressures, we have had to provide an extra $1.5 million for the Forsyth Barr Stadium and budget for losing $4.5 million of dividend from Dunedin City Holdings Limited, which owns companies on the DCC’s behalf. We have absorbed some of those costs, but cannot absorb them all. We also need to balance rate limits against a range of new proposals in the LTP which the Council believes are worth investing in. We need public input on these, plus feedback on several other projects that have been included as unfunded items, such as new aquatic facilities for Mosgiel and lighting for the University of Otago Oval.”

Amendments to the Local Government Act have changed the way LTPs are developed and consulted on with the community. Past long term plans have involved first producing a full draft plan which was then put out for public consultation and feedback. Under the new system the DCC is required to produce this consultation document which sets out the issues the city is facing and the options for managing them. Key issues include putting the Stadium on a more achievable financial footing, tackling the city’s ageing infrastructure and addressing low economic growth.

The consultation period will be followed by hearings and deliberations in May and a final LTP will be adopted by the Council in June.

A range of supporting documents and an online submission form will be available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/ltp from 7am on Saturday (today).

Contact Dave Cull Mayor of Dunedin on 477 4000. DCC Link

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Related Posts and Comments:
25.3.15 DCC Long Term Plan: Green-dyed chickens home to roost
24.3.15 Noble property subdivision —DELTA
23.3.15 Noble property subdivision: “Denials suggest that we have not learned.”
12.3.15 Snaky Stedman —not answering … questions ratepayers must ask
4.3.15 DCC internal audits
20.2.15 Audit NZ making up for previous huge inadequacies over DCC books ?
21.1.15 Dunedin City Council to set rates WAY ABOVE….
14.1.15 DCC Draft Long Term Plan: more inanity from Cull’s crew pending
18.12.14 DCC: Deloitte report released on Citifleet #whitewash
21.11.14 Stadium Review: Mayor Cull exposed
19.11.14 Forsyth Barr Stadium Review
3.11.14 DCC: What happened to $20 million cash on hand? #LGOIMA
31.10.14 Whaleoil on “dodgy ratbag local body politicians” —just like ours at DCC
28.5.14 DCC: Audit and risk subcommittee
31.3.14 Audit services to (paying) local bodies #FAIL ● AuditNZ … LynProvost
26.2.14 DCC: New audit and risk subcommittee a little too late !!

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image source: DCC

DCC Long Term Plan: Green-dyed chickens home to roost

Updated post Wed, 25 Mar 2015 at 12:49 p.m.

[todayifoundout.com]

With a self-imposed aim to keep rates rises to no more than 3%, the council still needed to find millions of dollars in savings each year for the next decade.

### ODT Online Wed, 25 Mar 2015
Council accused of being in denial over long-term plan
By Chris Morris
Councillors say the Dunedin City Council is in “denial” over the need to raise rates, or cut services, to plug a $68 million budget shortfall over the next decade. The claims came amid warnings from Crs Aaron Hawkins and Jinty MacTavish yesterday, as councillors met to sign off on a public consultation document summarising the council’s long-term plan.
Read more

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Quelle surprise…. it’s not like these latest mumblings from Councillors on DCC budgets and projections is “News!” to the Dunedin ratepayers and residents who closely follow Council fortunes.

What IS news is the “greenie sustainables” of Greater Dunedin have finally woken up!

Is there a political split forming in Greater Dunedin? – when indeed, historically, we’ve been told by the ‘loose connection with incorporated society’ that its members have no shared policy, that their elected representatives are free to (think) and vote independently…. with some cohesion, nevertheless.

Well might Cr Lee Vandervis provide a standing ovation to Cr Aaron Hawkins’ voicing of major concerns. It was incumbent on Cr Jinty MacTavish, practically and politically… to agree with her Green Party confederate.
Interesting times. Wait for the YouTube video.

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Dunedin City Council Extraordinary Meeting 24 March 2015 at 12 noon
Council Chamber, Municipal Chambers

█ Agenda – Council – 24/03/2015 (PDF, 28.3 KB)
Extraordinary Meeting

Agenda Item 4
ADOPTION OF DRAFT LONG TERM PLAN 2015/16 – 2024/25 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS AND CONSULTATION DOCUMENT
Report from the General Manager Services and Development (Simon Pickford). Refer to pages 4.1 – 4.8.
Supporting documents and consultation document circulated separately and are also available on the Dunedin City Council website.
Reports and recommendations contained in this agenda are not to be considered as Council policy until adopted.

█ Report – Council – 24/03/2015 (PDF, 176.8 KB)
Adoption of Draft Long Term Plan 2015/16 – 2024/25 Supporting Documents and Consultation Document

█ Report – Council – 24/03/2015 (PDF, 2.8 MB)
Adoption of Draft Long Term Plan 2015/16 – 2024/25 Supporting Documents and Consultation Document
Attachment 7 – Dunedin City Council Draft Long Term Plan Consultation document for adoption 24 March 2015

█ Report – Council – 24/03/2015 (PDF, 2.4 MB)
Adoption of Draft Long Term Plan 2015/16 – 2024/25 Supporting Documents and Consultation Document
Draft Infrastructure Strategy for adoption 24 March 2015 (replaces previously issued document)

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Related Posts and Comments:
12.3.15 Snaky Stedman —not answering … questions ratepayers must ask
4.3.15 DCC internal audits
20.2.15 Audit NZ making up for previous huge inadequacies over DCC books ?
21.1.15 Dunedin City Council to set rates WAY ABOVE….
21.11.14 Stadium Review: Mayor Cull exposed
19.11.14 Forsyth Barr Stadium Review
31.10.14 Whaleoil on “dodgy ratbag local body politicians” —just like ours at DCC
28.5.14 DCC: Audit and risk subcommittee
31.3.14 Audit services to (paying) local bodies #FAIL ● AuditNZ … LynProvost
26.2.14 DCC: New audit and risk subcommittee a little too late !!

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC internal audits

### ODT Online Wed, 4 Mar 2015
Council plans sweeping internal audit
By Chris Morris
An outside company will be paid to pry into every corner of the Dunedin City Council in the wake of the Citifleet fraud. The move came as members of the council’s audit and risk subcommittee yesterday endorsed two new policies designed to better protect the organisation from fraud.
Read more

### ODT Online Tue, 3 Mar 2015
Look at audit, disposal policies
By Chris Morris
The Dunedin City Council is continuing to close the gaps in its defences in the wake of the $1.5 million Citifleet fraud. Councillors at today’s audit and risk subcommittee meeting will consider a new internal audit policy, and an updated asset disposal and write-off policy, which aimed to better protect the organisation against fraud.
Read more

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The Council’s audit and risk subcommittee:
Susie Johnstone (Chairperson), Janet Copeland, Councillors Chris Staynes, Richard Thomson, Hilary Calvert and Mayor Dave Cull (Ex-Officio Member)

Agenda – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 105.3 KB)

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 164.7 KB)
Audit and Risk Subcommittee Work Plan

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 63.2 KB)
Governance/Financial Policies

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 363.9 KB)
Updated Internal Audit Policy (Draft)

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 216.7 KB)
Updated Asset Disposal and Write-off Policy and Procedures

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Significance and Engagement Policy

Report – Audit – 03/03/2015 (PDF, 38.1 KB)
Long Term Plan Update

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: glasbergen.com – bad news toon-1682; pinimg.com – keep calm