Chile beckons over excellence award
Hutt City Council’s win in last year’s New Zealand Business Excellence Award has taken its chief executive on a far-flung speaking engagement.
Tony Stallinger flew to Chile’s capital of Santiago on August 25 to talk at an international conference on success stories in local government management.
The trip, fully funded by the Municipality of Providencia, gives Tony the opportunity to address an audience that includes mayors, city commissioners, heads of department and professionals employed in Chilean government organisations, as well as local administrators from around the world.
“The award recognised the enthusiasm and striving for excellence in all we do and finding new, innovative ways to produce results for Hutt residents,” he said.
“Lots of people in business and government organisations around New Zealand have wanted to hear how we achieved such results – and now there is an opportunity to tell that story to an international audience.”
Tony’s address, entitled “Sustaining financial success in difficult times”, will discuss how the council has worked with the Hutt community to deliver the lowest rates increases in the country.
“Importantly,” he said, “this has been achieved while having very high resident satisfaction with council services.”
Tony will also make the same presentation to the World Business Capability Conference in Auckland later this year.
Hutt City Council is only the fourth organisation in New Zealand to receive gold in the awards, and the first local government body. A panel of experts scrutinised all aspects of the council’s operation before granting the award.