The 16 Regional Councils and Unitary Authorities in Aotearoa New Zealand work together on areas of shared interest. We now wish to create a shared services company in response to:

• Increased demands from Central Government to deliver a broad range of reform packages.
• Capacity and capability challenges and competition between councils to attract and retain talent.
• Expectations from our communities for councils to do more with less.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council intends to become a shareholder and contribute to the operating costs of the council-controlled organisation. This change:

• Will enable improved outcomes from investment into national programmes of work.
• Will improve access to specialists and resources, reducing costs and sharing risk.
• Will be at a similar cost to existing contributions.

The shareholders will include a number of regional councils and unitary authorities. Bay of Plenty Regional Council will maintain its ownership of the council-controlled organisation as long as it continues to operate and the Regional Council continues to utilise the services provided by the council-controlled organisation. The Shared Services Statement of Proposal is provided under the Document Library.

Feedback received before 4 May 2022 will be summarised for Regional Council. Those wishing to speak to their submission will have an opportunity to speak to Council at hearings before any decisions are made.