Kia ora

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receipt of your enquiry.

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Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team.

Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea 0800 492 452  
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaruawahia 3742 
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia

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Kia ora

Thank you for your email. This is an automated acknowledgement confirming
receipt of your enquiry.

Our standard business hours are:

* Monday to Thursday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
* Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm

We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry within 24 business hours.

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team.

Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea 0800 492 452  
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaruawahia 3742 
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia

[1]www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz ■ [2]Like us on Facebook

References

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1. http://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/
2. http://www.facebook.com/WaikatoDistrictC...

Kia Ora, I am unable to see the original thread on this email for the
LGOIMA request. 

 

Do you have this so I can check with our Records and Legal team to see
where abouts this is. 

 

Thanks, 

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance,
you can either email us at [1][email address] or phone us on 0800 492
452.

Kind regards,

Jared Solomon 

Customer Delivery Team | Contact Centre

Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea: 07 824 8633 Waea puukoro: 0800 492 452
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaaruawaahia 3742
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaaruawaahia

[2]www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz ■ [3]Like us on Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

From: [FOI #34307 email]

Sent: Monday, May 4, 2026 9:41 PM

To: [Waikato District Council request email]

Subject: Re: Official Information request - Transformation office
definition, staff resourcing and associated costs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Waikato District Council,
I am still waiting on a reply to my official information request. This was
due on 30 April 2026. What is the delay?

Yours faithfully,

Charles

show quoted sections

Kia ora

Thank you for your email. This is an automated acknowledgement confirming
receipt of your enquiry.

Our standard business hours are:

* Monday to Thursday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
* Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm

We will endeavour to respond to your enquiry within 24 business hours.

Kind Regards,

Contact Centre Team.

Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea 0800 492 452  
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaruawahia 3742 
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia

[1]www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz ■ [2]Like us on Facebook

References

Visible links
1. http://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/
2. http://www.facebook.com/WaikatoDistrictC...

Morena Charles. Thank you, I have forward this information to our Records
team to follow up with Legal. Please wait for their response. 

 

Thanks, 

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance,
you can either email us at [1][email address] or phone us on 0800 492
452.

Kind regards,

Jared Solomon 

Customer Delivery Team | Contact Centre

Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea: 07 824 8633 Waea puukoro: 0800 492 452
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaaruawaahia 3742
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaaruawaahia

[2]www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz ■ [3]Like us on Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

From: [FOI #34307 email]

Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 6:14 PM

To: [email address]

Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Official Information request - Transformation office
definition, staff resourcing and associated costs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Jared Solomon

This was my original request sent on 30 March:

I’ve recently seen job ads and watched some council meetings online and
noticed that Waikato District Council has set up a “Transformation
Office.” I’m trying to understand what this is and what it’s costing, so
I’m requesting the following information under the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act:

1. What is the Transformation Office and what is it meant to do?
2. How many people currently work in the Transformation Office? Please
include both employees and contractors, and break this down by each group.
3. How many more staff or contractors are planned or approved to be
brought on to support this work?
4. How much money has been spent so far on staff and contractors salaries
or fees for the Transformation Office?
5. What is the total budget for the Transformation Office for this
financial year and next financial year?
6. Can you provide a breakdown of that budget (for example, staff costs,
contractor costs, and other expenses)?
7. Is the Transformation Office funded by ratepayers? If so, how is it
being funded (e.g. rates, borrowing, or moving money from other budgets)?
If the funding was moved from elsewhere, please explain where it came
from.
8. Was the Transformation Office included in the Long Term Plan
consultation? If yes:
• Where was this information shared? (e.g. consultation document,
supporting information)
• Please provide the links or references to where this appears.

Yours faithfully
Charles

show quoted sections

Dear Charles,

Thank you for your request for information, originally received on 30^th
March 2026, and for your follow-up enquiry on 5^th May 2026.

 

First, please accept our sincere apologies. Due to an administrative
oversight, your original request was incorrectly directed to a spam folder
and was not processed through our usual channels. We regret this error and
any inconvenience or frustration this delay may have caused.

 

We are now treating your request as received and will respond as soon as
reasonably practicable in accordance with the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We will provide a decision on
your request no later than 20 working days from the date it was identified
and brought into our processing system.

 

We note that your request relates to the Transformation Office and
includes some specific data and information that requires collation and
review.  Please be aware that for large or more complex requests, or where
consultation is required, the Act allows for an extension of time. If this
becomes necessary, we will notify you and provide a revised decision date.
We may also contact you if clarification is needed or to discuss refining
the scope of your request.

 

We are currently working with the relevant teams to gather accurate and
up-to-date information to ensure a complete and reliable response.

Once again we apologise for the delay, and thank you for your patience and
understanding. If you have any questions or wish to discuss your request
further, please feel free to contact me in the first instance.

 

With many thanks

Alison Baxter
Official Information and Delegations Advisor
Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Nama waea: 07 824 8633 |  Waea puukoro: 0800 492 452
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaruawahia 3742
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia
[1]Logo, company name Description automatically generated

 

References

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Good morning Charles

 

We refer to your request for information received by the Waikato District
Council (Council) on 30 March 2026 pursuant to the Local Government
Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).  We acknowledge the
delay in response and apologise for this.

 

We have processed your request as soon as we have been able to and we are
pleased to respond to you today.

 

Request

Your request was phrased as follows:

 

Dear Waikato District Council I’ve recently seen job ads and watched some
council meetings online and noticed that Waikato District Council has set
up a “Transformation Office.” I’m trying to understand what this is and
what it’s costing, so I’m requesting the following information under the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act:

 1. What is the Transformation Office and what is it meant to do?
 2. How many people currently work in the Transformation Office? Please
include both employees and contractors, and break this down by each
group.
 3. How many more staff or contractors are planned or approved to be
brought on to support this work?
 4. How much money has been spent so far on staff and contractors’
salaries or fees for the Transformation Office?
 5. What is the total budget for the Transformation Office for this
financial year and next financial year?
 6. Can you provide a breakdown of that budget (e.g. staff costs,
contractor costs, and other expenses)?
 7. Is the Transformation Office funded by ratepayers? If so, how is it
being funded (e.g. rates, borrowing, or reallocation from other
budgets)? If the funding was moved from elsewhere, please explain
where it came from.
 8. Was the Transformation Office included in the Long-Term Plan
consultation? If yes:

o Where was this information shared?
o Please provide links or references.

 

Decision

Council’s decision is to release the information you have requested. The
information is available in the attached PDF titled “LGOIMA –
Transformation Office”. The information attached represents our best
efforts to locate the information you have requested.

 

As with all LGOIMA responses, you have the right to seek an investigation
and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information about this
process is available at [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800
802 602.

That concludes our response to your request. If you have any questions
about this response, please contact Naomi Lee in the first instance.

 

Naomi Lee
Solicitor
Waikato District Council
Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

Waea puukoro: 027 225 3708 |  Nama waea: 07 824 8633
Poutaapeta Mahi: Private Bag 544, Ngaruawahia 3742
Waahi Mahi: 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia
[2]Logo, company name Description automatically generated

 

References

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1. Original URL: http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/. Click or tap if you trust this link.
http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/