12 June 2012
ATTENTION: Samuel Fraser
RE: Official information Request – Staff

Thank you for your email received 25 May 2012 where you requested under section 10 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) 1987, the following information:
1) A list of all position (job titles) directly employed by the council, and the number of staff in each of those roles; and
2) Any briefings, reports, advice, transcripts, notes, correspondence, aide memoires or any other documents regarding any proposal to amalgamate the council with neighbouring councils.

In relation to item 1) above, please find attached a list of Northland Regional Council (NRC) staff positions.
In accordance with the provisions of section 13(1) of LGOIMA, Northland Regional Council has assessed its ability to provide the information you have requested in item 2) above.

In accordance with section 17(f), the council has the ability to refuse your request on the basis that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research. Before doing so, the council has a duty to consult with the parties making the request as to whether the request could be made in a form that would remove the reason for the refusal (section 17B).

In order to be able to assess whether or not the council can provide the information requested without substantial collation or research in item 2) above, we request that you provide clarification on the specific nature and scope of the information being sought. This would greatly assist in the clarifying the scope of the information being sought and result in a more reasonable information request for the council to respond to without substantial collation or research.
In an effort to assist, this council has not initiated any proposal to amalgamate the council with any of the district council’s in Northland. Being a regional council, the district councils are not strictly “neighbouring council’s” as we share the same boundaries. Technically speaking, NRC’s only “neighbouring council” is Auckland City. Could you therefore please start with clarifying what you mean by “neighbouring”?

In terms of clarifying the specific nature and scope of your request, can you perhaps give dates to which we could apply your requests, or specific proposed amalgamation proposals such as the Whangarei and Far North District Council joint proposal to form two Unitary Authorities in Northland in 2010?
Your response will also enable the council to assess the time required to meet your request and therefore estimate the likely costs involved. In accordance with section 13 of LGOIMA, the council has the ability to charge for both the time and materials in relation to responding to information requests at the rate of $38 (including GST) for each ½ hour – after the first free half hour, and photocopying at a rate of 20c per page after the first 20 pages. It is this council’s policy to charge for responding to information requests using this provision of the Act and payment will be required in advance.

In accordance with section 14 of LGOIMA, the council gives notice that it has extended the time limit to respond to this request by a further 20 days. This is in order to undertake the consultations necessary to make a decision on the requests so that a proper response can be reasonably made. In addition, the extension is necessary as even after the request has been clarified as requested in this letter, the request is still likely to require a search through a large quantity of information.
If you are unhappy with the council’s decision to extend the time limit on your request, then you have the right under section 27(3) of LGOIMA to make a complaint to an Ombudsman about this extension.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Yours sincerely

Linda Stansfield I GM CEO's Office and Projects
Northland Regional Council I Te Kaunihera A Rohe O Te Taitokerau
36 Water Street I Private Bag 9021 I Whangarei Mail Centre I WHANGAREI 0148
Freephone : 0800 002 004 I DDI: 09 470 1210 I Fax: 09 438 0012
Visit us : www.nrc.govt.nz
Follow us : twitter.com/NRCexpress
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Dear Mr Fraser
Please find attached the Council's follow up letter to our request that you provide more information to the council (please refer to the email below).

Regards
Linda Stansfield
Northland Regional Council.

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