2011-2012 Annual Report - Full Version - PDF - Palmerston North ...

Activity - Corporate SupportWhat the Council doesThis Activity is about the Council’s internalservices that support the external services Councilprovides to residents. These are human resources,information management and financial services.The cost of operating and maintaining the CivicAdministration Building is covered by this Activity.There are some one-off discretionary projects thatwill improve the way the Council provides theexternal services to residents.The direct cost of providing these services is spreadover Council’s external services as overheads.Because they are internal services there are no10 Year Plan levels of service or performancemeasures.What happened in the yearInformation ManagementThe Information Management Strategic Plan wasformally adopted at the beginning of the financialyear, and since then good progress has been madeon a number of the initiatives outlined in thestrategy.Identifying system and data migrationrequirements for integration of the propertiestransferring to the City following the boundaryalteration with Manawatu District Councilwas started 12 months ago and will come tofruition with this to occur 1 July 2012. This hasrequired significant resource to identify the detailrequired to actually get the boundary alterationimplemented.Review of information reporting is critical toimprove access, transparency, relevancy andtimeliness of financial and other informationto management. A key area of focus is thedevelopment of financial dashboards, currently inphase one of this project.Compliance and security has been a focus duringthe year, with particular attention to the Council’sown processes and how they can be improved. Asignificant part of these improvements has beenaround access to information and how that accessis managed and communicated. This has seen anew service management and monitoring systemintroduced, which in turn is providing a betteroperational view of the Council’s environment.Civic Administration BuildingThere have been three major projects underwayin the CAB over the year. The first is the renewalprogramme for the heating and ventilation systemin the ground floor spaces between the mainentrance and Main Street. The previous systemwas roof mounted and prone to freezing at varioustimes of the year which rendered it ineffectivewhen it was needed the most. The new systemis connected to the main boiler which servicesthe rest of the Civic Administration Building andtherefore is able to be controlled much moreaccurately. The second project is the re-roofingof the ground floor offices and the retail shopson Main Street which were prone to water leaks.This has been a difficult time for staff on theground floor who have had to work in some tryingconditions as the work continued overhead. Thestaff have now taken the opportunity to move totemporary office space while the remainder of theproject is completed.Compliance and security hasbeen a focus during the year, withparticular attention to the Council’sown processes and how they canbe improved. A significant partof these improvements has beenaround access to information andhow that access is managed andcommunicated.The third project is the lift renewal project.Fortunately the work was programmed for the2011/12 financial year as two of the lifts hadstarted to show signs that they were nearingthe end of their serviceable life. The project wasdelayed due to parts being held up in the portsof Auckland dispute early in 2012. The projectremains underway with the building currentlybeing serviced by two lifts while the other twoare having the lifting and control plant renewed.Once they are completed the remaining two willhave their lifting and control plant renewed.Palmerston North City Council Annual Report 2011/12What the Council Does Corporate SupportSupportServices125