TDC staff growth exceeds prediction

The number of people working at the Tasman District Council rose by 22 to 396 in the year to June.

Those 396 equated to 374 fulltime equivalent (FTE) positions, 15 more than predicted in an earlier report..

Acting chief executive Leonie Rae reported to a full council meeting on Thursday that the head count rose from 374 in June 2021 to 396 in June 2022.

Of that 22-person increase, eight were fixed-term roles, and another three were part of the Government stimulus funding or Government reforms that carried over from the June 2021 statistics.

‘‘The modelling was based on council services remaining unchanged, and during the last financial year we have added additional resources to legal and democracy services functions, waters and wastes functions, finance functions, and new freshwater compliance functions,’’ Rae said.

At the meeting, Rae told elected members that some FTE positions were fixed-term and ‘‘we are below the FTE count’’.

‘‘We’ve got quite a lot of vacancies right now,’’ she said.

The annual turnover of staff at the council was 15.9%, lower than the national average, while the average length of service was 6.88 years, and the average age of staff was 47.9 years.

Meanwhile, the mid-year Staff Value Awards were held on August 3. The awards aimed to acknowledge staff who exemplified the council’s values of innovation, responsibility, caring/sharing and relationships. It was staff members – not managers – who nominated their colleagues for an award.

‘‘It’s really important that we celebrate people who are showing our values,’’ Rae said.

‘‘That’s the way we change culture in an organisation, and I’m really proud that these awards have been implemented as part of our regime.’’

For the quarter ending September 2020, the council had 321 FTEs and a head count of 352, up from 316 FTEs and a head count of 348 at June 2020. That 316 total was up from 289 in June 2019.

The annual human resource statistics for the year ending June 2022 come after news that the council is buying the Methodist church site in central Richmond, across Wensley Rd from its main campus, which is an earthquake-prone hotchpotch of buildings where space is constrained.

In November, elected members agreed that a preferred accommodation proposal – either council-built and owned or leased – is to be developed for inclusion in the Long Term Plan 2024-34.

‘‘During the last financial year we have added additional resources.’’

Tasman District Council acting chief executive Leonie Rae