Bluff Board Screws Pool Of A Future

That’s what it looks like to me and exactly why I opposed the Board’s public excluded pool negotiations.  I believe there was another 500+ that agreed.

To recap, the original decision was that ICC funding ‘will be $180K’ and then after some public excluded Board involvement the new resolution was ‘up to $180k’ and that was based on operational expenditure.  I argued that the full $180k is necessary for the pool to have a viable future.  Any cost savings in operation could be placed into reserve.

End result only operational funding because ‘importance was placed on the submission of the Bluff Community Board’ (WTF), 2 versus 536.

We now have ICC managing the pool for the trust and look at the operational savings they’ve made (granted, the loan on the building is gone now).  From the Community Services agenda

ICC have done well out of this deal, pity the Bluff representatives screwed Bluff over.  That is why I bitch about them and rightly so!  If that is the true cost of running the pool, the Trust would be banking over $100,00 this year alone.

Thanks Bluff Community Board….you serve us soooooooo well..FFS

I Am Impressed

The Community Services agenda has been online since Tuesday (April 3) for the meeting on April 11.  Impressive guys, nice to see you’re not taking the ’2 days prior to the meeting’ literally.  Making it available even earlier allows residents to do their research, make plans to attend if they want and ask to speak in the Public Forum without getting exemptions from the Chair and CEO.  Good on you!

Community Services does not impress me in any way though.  The only thing I found of interest was the recommended resolution to ILT and ILT Foundation.  It perplexes me on a few levels…Can a committee of council apply for funding and do funders give to councils directly?  I thought this is why ICC has charitable trusts set up.  I also thought resolutions funders required must have the amount of the funding request?  I also consider the ILT as the trading division and the ILT Foundation as the appropriate group that gives out funding but the recommendation has ILT and ILT Foundation listed?

So are ILT  Foundation giving pokie money out and ILT giving out Trust profits from the monopoly they have?  Can someone clarify because this keeps coming up and then I look it up and for some reason it’s not ‘sticking’ and I question myself over it.

Community Services – 27 February

The agenda is available and I’m concerned that introducing RFID on 200,000 books at $250,000 will be endorsed (and deemed necessary).  I’m sure it’s a great set up but with Crs cancelling the Queens Park toilet and discussing whether to demolish 3 or 4 houses at a saving of $25,000, is it appropriate to now be suggesting a new cataloging system?

Keeping in mind the ‘savings’ made on the rates increase was only $1M and $400k came from good old parks and resulted in reduced service.  I don’t call that making savings, it’s just cutting works.

Tabled Documents

Two tabled documents from today’s Community Services meeting online:

Map of proposed bus routes

Minutes of Safer Invercargill Sub-Committee – 27 October 2011

Two more Beacon’s scanned also

25 January 2011

8 February 2011

Whatever….

Ho hum…it’s that time again…the 4 Mb Community Services agenda is online.

I haven’t even looked and probably won’t get time, bigger fish to fry.

Meanwhile, last night’s City Talk!  I thought the body language and statements show Mayor Tim’s moral compass is pointing in the right direction and surely that’s the measure of a man.

I find it sad that the actions of some reflect so badly on others, through no fault of their own.

 

The “family lens”

The Community Services agenda shows us how far our council are straying from core services.  While the ‘child friendly’ city concept stirred much opinion in 2009, I had made comment that it was still simmering away after reading the Shared Services minutes.  Now it seems to have reared it’s head again under another name and even more inclusive, now it’s…drum roll please…. the Family Centred Policy or is The Child and Family Policy because that’s what it’s called in the Introduction.  The name Family Centred Policy is more prevalent so I suppose I’ll stick to that.

The Council wishes to see a “family lens” placed over all policies, strategies and initiatives undertaken and supported by the Council.

I can only say, oh dear, and it you want to go down that track it is yet another document to call you to task over.

How would footpaths with a 2 metre drop and no railing cope with a “family lens” put over it?

A derelict house?  Streets with no footpaths?

Should I push the stroller on the road while my toddler walks on the muddy verge?  Would a “family lens” approve?

Explanatory Notes

For those that are viewing documents on my Keep and Share site, I thought it might be useful to explain the filing system that has evolved.  Through the need to have them in chronological order as opposed to alphabetical I have put in brackets a meeting number and alpha, i.e;

2011 (01A) January 26 – Council AGENDA

2011 is obviously the year – having it at the start ensures all of the same year are together

(01A)
the number indicates which meeting number for the year of that committee, 1st,2nd etc and the alpha are as follows:
A=Agenda.
b, c, d,  etc=Part 2 or 3 of large agenda or reports separate of agenda or tabled documents, I usually put TABLED in the file name so if you are using the Keep and Share search engine you can type in TABLED and you get all the tabled documents I have.  There is some logic in my reasoning, it just may be my demented logic though.
M=Minutes

If there is no alpha, I either haven’t got to it or it forms part of the agenda and I separated it for blogging purposes.  I’m working through them all from most recent because I felt they would be more relevant.

January 26 is obviously the date of the meeting

Any text will indicate the committee/group or if it says Council it will be ICC full council.  I then put in TABLED or any other relevant info i.e, AGENDA, MINUTES or a description if space allows.

I can’t say the folders have a set method because they have evolved as need and quantity of files in each folder requires.  Bear with me I’ll get through them all but it can be time consuming.  The historian in me is itching to get older ones and have always planned to go to the library and copy a heap like I have done in the past.  I recently rung the library to see if they had scanning ability or should I bring my own.  I’m informed that they can scan and email stuff, I explained that some may be large and I didn’t want to tie up the staff but it seems you can’t go in and do that (I have photocopied agendas myself in the past).  I tried to explain my logic, that I could photocopy but then I would come home and scan them all in and upload to my site but that would be a waste of time, money and trees.  I was questioned about the concept of having a portable scanner, OMG then was the skeptical tone when she realised I’d said I would be uploading them.  I explained it was a public council agenda and minutes site but a fearful voice said ‘I’d have to get Council’s permission’.  I was eventually rung back and told I’d have to talk to ICC’s Record Manager.

After all of that, I would like to know, since when did council documents have copyright requirements?  LGOIMA requires public libraries under that councils control to have agenda available so therefore they are part of the library’s stock and therefore theirs to give approval and copyright is not relevant here.  Worse still is that they are claiming they only have ‘some’.  What happened to all the ones you had to have as a requirement of LGOIMA?  Did you throw them all and every 25 years as required by the Public Records Act council send copies back to you?  What a waste of time and money and so much for being part of Community Archives.  Transparency, community, Pfffft.  Now I have to request it all from ICC or get the library to scan it and waste paid employee time when I am able to do it at no cost and make it readily available to the general public and therefore saving time in the future!  What a waste of time, space and money they have turned out to be.  TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNITY CAN SAVE TIME AND MONEY but careful they might be better informed and more involved, can’t have that down here in redneck dial-up city.  And to make matters worse I read a LGNZ Technology document with references to Venture Southland (OMG) and comments from the former Telecom boss saying Southland was the most ‘connected’ region!  Maybe so but we’re not allowed to use it.

More of this please

A job well done

Well done, nice to see someone showing what they have done rather than coming to Council with their hand out.  Someone at Council better be nominating them for an Environmental Award or the like.  Considering this was started 11 years ago because of a report to Council.  These guys implemented and stuck with it and now deserve every opportunity to receive a pat on the back.  It would not have happened if council did it, the benefits of communities.  I hope there will be a few Crs there to help on Planting Day.

Repeal the Anti Smacking Law NOW…

…..so I can smack the Youth Council upstarts round the ears!

I don’t care if you don’t care about history but maybe every bugger that died, fought and struggled to provide you the liberties you have now, do.  Be it democracy, women’s rights, social welfare or protection from oppression, you don’t deserve it!

I realise you were referring to Anniversary day but such disregard for history shows you have no respect for the work involved in creating the community you benefit from everyday.

So you want the day off with no regard to what you are celebrating?  Well enjoy your drinks (at 18)and remember your history, and the people that fought and died before they were legally allowed to purchase alcohol!!! FFS!

Community Services Agenda 27 June 2011

Agenda can be viewed here

Not much to say except ho hum…it’s Community Services.
But then again, at least the Report of the CEO and ‘research’ has shown that there is no need for ICC to stick their nose (and our money) into emergency accommodation for women! and why can’t it just be emergency accommodation, didn’t know the need for a roof over your head was different depending on your gender.  Maybe I’m naive:)  We have govt dept’s and community groups to fill this need haven’t we?  Well ‘research’ has now shown that we do (thank goodness!)