Kaipara has a vast network of roads to maintain covering some 1614 km, with 1140 km of this being unsealed. There are 354 bridges and large culverts, 99km of footpaths, and 32km of cycleways. Roading is also our biggest spend with a budget of about $51m next year alone.

The quality of the maintenance of the roads is one of the biggest concerns of local ratepayers and residents so as a Council we are taking action to fix this. Leading change does not come without risk, but things definitely need to change.

We have carried out a formal review of the district’s roading maintenance contract and operating model (how services are delivered), and a separate review of the operating model in conjunction with the other three Council’s in Northland. As a result of these reviews, we have decided to make the following key changes –

1. Changing the road maintenance contractor

We went back out to the market and have engaged Downer as the new lead contractor.

2. Using local contractors

The new road maintenance contract requires the lead contractor Downer to use local contractors to do at least 40 percent of the work. This means that the people doing the work have skin in the game. If the work is not up to scratch, they will get tapped on the shoulder at the supermarket or the pub by the locals. It also means that more rates money will stay in the local district.

3. Bringing our roading staff back in house

In 2016 Council entered into an arrangement to amalgamate the roading staff of all four Northland Councils into a conglomerate called Northland Transportation Alliance (NTA) working out of an office in Whangarei. As a result, Council decided to bring our roading function back in house to improve the roads that we drive on every day.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result. Change does not come without risk, but we have got to the point where we must make changes to try to deliver a level of service that our ratepayers deserve.

I will be watching this space closely as the new contractors get underway and our roading staff are brought under KDC’s roof in August.