2020/21 Annual Report adopted
Councillors formally adopted the 2020/21 Annual Report and Annual Report Summary at a full Council meeting on Wednesday 24 November.
The report highlights how Environment Southland has performed against measures outlined in last year’s Annual Plan and sets out the organisation’s financial position.
Chairman Nicol Horrell said the annual report was a good opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities the year has provided, as well as the resilience shown by the region.
“We’ve achieved some really great things this year – in particular the economic recovery projects that are underway, like the Jobs for Nature biosecurity projects and our climate resilience projects to help protect Southland from the impacts of climate change.
“We also worked really closely with Te Ao Marama Inc to weave together one set of environmental outcomes for Southland. They articulate where our communities want to get to and what our region is aiming for in terms of freshwater and estuary health. This is leading edge work that has received significant national interest.”
Environment Southland finished the year with a reported surplus of $3.27 million. However, $3.2 million of this relates to unrealised income from our investment portfolio and a further $1.26 million is Government funds tagged for economic recovery projects that cannot be used for other work.
During the year staff found efficiencies and achieved significant cost savings of $2.1 million. Even after these savings, day-to-day operating expenses remained $1.2 million in deficit, meaning everyday income did not cover everyday expenses.
Chairman Horrell said there are many challenges ahead, with increasing expectations from the community and Central Government, as well as the ongoing uncertainty from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ve demonstrated our resilience as a region and as a Council we’ve put together a Long-term Plan which will see us through the challenges ahead.”
The Annual Report and Annual Report Summary are available on our website https://www.es.govt.nz/about-us/plans-and-strategies/council-plans/annual-report
