When Wilma Falconer became chief executive officer of Environment Southland, she took over the reins from our very own club member Rob Phillips when he resigned last year.
Wilma has extensive experience in local government and provided members with significant insight of the “big picture” matters we, as a region, are facing.
She explained the challenges of rising cost versus low population-based funding. Southland is the second largest geographical area of New Zealand with 2% of the country's population.
What is more surprising is that Environment Southland is the second smallest regional council, with 200 staff that manage our extensive region.
To put this into context, Wilma highlighted that Canterbury is the largest region in New Zealand and managed by 800 staff.