Infracore chief executive Emma Murray. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua council-controlled organisation Infracore has welcomed its third chief executive in seven years.
In the Rotorua Lakes Council Operations and Monitoring Committee meeting, new chief executive Emma Murray presented the organisation's quarterly update to elected members.
Murray, who was previously the organisation's chief financial officer, took over the role on May 17 from previous chief executive Matthew Scott.
Scott was in the role for three years, succeeding Tim Hammond.
Infracore was formed in August 2015, taking over the operations of council works department Castlecorp and its plant nursery. It maintains council infrastructure, such as water supply, and assets such as the district's reserves, sports fields and gardens.
In the meeting, Infracore chairman John McRae said the organisation was embarking on a "new direction and a new phase in its life".
He said Scott was "awesome" in the role and changed its culture, to "settle" it as it had been "struggling with culture and place".
He said Scott didn't want to lead the organisation in its "next phase" and the board's expectation was to have it double in size and capability.
"That's pretty ambitious and that's going to put a lot of pressure on [Murray] but we know she's the right person to respond to that."
Murray said she was excited to lead the organisation that "aids in our beauty [and] aids in ensuring that our community is safe".
Scott is now a "strategic adviser" to the Infracore chief executive, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said she was concerned about the turnover of chief executives in Infracore's short life span and said it may be "disconcerting" for staff.
He said Scott made the organisation more efficient and recruited talent well to ensure its sustainability.
"He did a very good job of that and now he wants to do something different."
Councillor Tania Tapsell said she was "not concerned at all" about the change of leadership.
"I think three years is a long time … to be a chief executive. Nothing new there."
Murray's presentation for the meeting showed for the period July 1 to March 31 Infracore had a $176,000 year-to-date surplus.
The audited financial position for the period showed the organisation had more than $6.5 million in assets and more than $4.2m in liabilities.
The two other council-controlled organisations – RotoruaNZ and Rotorua Airport – also presented quarterly reports to the committee.
For the July to March period Rotorua Airport had a deficit of almost $165,000, but it had budgeted for a more than $575,000 deficit.
Aircraft movements for the period were down 36 per cent due to cancellations on the Auckland to Rotorua route and lower than expected general aviation movements, a report for the meeting said.
Passenger numbers were however in line with the budget, down 1 per cent for the first nine months of the financial year. Passenger numbers were ahead for the first half of the financial year but that was offset by "soft" numbers in February and March, due to the Omicron outbreak, the report said.
In the meeting, chief executive Nicole Brewer said although Air New Zealand was under pressure with low passenger numbers on regional flights, its maintenance of some schedules meant the result "could be a lot worse".
She said there had also been several resignations and staff changes at the airport, including the resignation of operations and infrastructure general manager Logan Charters-Leahy, who had previously stood in as chief executive before Brewer's appointment.
RotoruaNZ reported a more than $90,500 deficit against a budgeted deficit of almost $19,000.
A report for the meeting said commission and trading revenue was "significantly" down due to lockdowns and traffic light settings that reduced visitor numbers.
It said expenditure had reduced to offset the deficit in revenue and further savings were being sought.
It said the forecast year-end position remained in line with the budget.
• Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air.
