Buller District Council’s communication and engagement strategy discussed at public council workshop

Buller District Council’s Communications and Engagement team unpacked its internal strategy document for councillors at a public workshop yesterday.

The strategy was developed in late 2024 in response to one of the Chief Executive Officer’s key performance indicators (KPIs) set by councillors.

It aims to provide direction for council staff in relation to aligning the whole organisation’s approach to communications and engagement, ensuring that as an organisation, council is able to navigate the rapidly changing communications landscape.

Group Manager Community Services Krissy Trigg says: “In developing the document, a broad range of sources were consulted to give the district’s demographic background, economic and social insights and ensure that the strategy complies with evidence-based best practice. Learnings from the results of the 2023 Customer Service Satisfaction survey were taken into account, and face-to-face consultations were also held with council staff and their feedback incorporated into the final document.”

Buller District Council uses multiple communication channels to disseminate its information to the community, as research shows people need to see or hear information multiple times across different channels before they fully absorb or act on it.

The strategy identifies where changes and improvements are necessary to ensure council’s communications and engagement remain relevant, accessible and effective in the modern landscape.

Central government recognised this shift in late 2024 and plans to change the public notice requirements across multiple Acts (including the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987) so councils are not compelled to publish public notices in newspapers.

“Going forward, BDC won’t necessarily stop publishing these notices in print; rather it will assess them on a case-by-case basis, being mindful of ensuring its information has equitable reach” says Ms Trigg.

Council’s website forms a central hub for communications, and following redevelopment in 2022, leapt from position 79 out of 80 to position 27 out of 80, benchmarked against other New Zealand councils by the Association of Local Government Information Management. This places the BDC website in the top 20% of council websites.

The council also uses a range of social media channels such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, with the latter being the most popular. The council’s Facebook
page has almost 4,500 followers and had received 415,00 page views this year, as of 21 February 2025.

The council’s Connect newsletter, which was delivered to households only three times a year, was identified as an opportunity. Due to the infrequent publication, much of the content was outdated and in November 2024, council moved production of its Greymouth-printed Connect newsletter to a monthly section within the free West Coast Messenger.

Ms Trigg continues: “This has resulted in council providing residents with up-to-date information, an increased amount of content and retaining the equitable access of a free publication. The Messenger is distributed to letterboxes and available for pickup at multiple locations right across Buller.”

Despite this change, council continues to utilise local newspapers and community newsletters for advertising the bulk of its statutory notices and general information.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Community Engagement Team
Buller District Council
Media.Enquiries@bdc.govt.nz