Share Services And Procurement Top Of The South

The three Top of the South mayors have agreed to jointly explore the opportunities that may be possible from joint purchasing and sharing services.

The Mayors and the CEOs of Nelson City and Tasman and Marlborough District Councils met yesterday to discuss the advantages of working together on shared services and procurement.

The local body leaders are assessing the financial savings that may be possible through one council providing services to the others and through joint purchasing of services or products.

The mayors believe there may well be opportunity for savings given the proximity of the three councils each serving similar populations and each with similar functions as unitary councils (with responsibility for both regional and territorial functions).

They have identified roading, the single biggest budget item for each council, as one area to explore.

Roading in Marlborough is currently undertaken by the New Zealand Transport Agency through its local office, Marlborough Roads, achieving cost savings by managing the state highways and local roads together.

It was suggested that exploring how this type of concept could be applied across the top of the south could help identify substantial cost savings and efficiencies.

Another area to be examined is resource management planning. Consistency in the rules and definitions of all three sets of resource management plans would assist builders and contractors and other businesses that work across the top of the south.

The Mayors also want to assess the level of savings that could be achieved through more focus on combined procurement of goods and services.

It was agreed that a draft Heads of Agreement be drawn up for each Council to consider. It would require all three councils to commit resources to examining the issues.

It’s hoped that each Council can make a decision on its commitment to this project within the next two months.

ALISTAIR SOWMAN MAYOR OF MARLBOROUGH
ALDO MICCIO MAYOR OF NELSON
RICHARD KEMPTHORNE MAYOR OF TASMAN