Its CouncilMARK™ report says the Canterbury region is being served well by Environment Canterbury. The report shows the council manages its finances prudently, has implemented its water management strategy well and has a good relationship with local iwi.Upper Hutt City Council’s CouncilMARK™ report shows the council is responsive to its community’s needs by balancing short and long-term priorities, with a strong vision for the future.CouncilMARK™ was launched in August 2016 with 18 councils signed up for the inaugural year. These reports are the twentieth and twenty-first reports to be released. Each of the 21 reports released to date reflect the different issues and circumstances faced by councils but common findings highlight the linkage between sound governance, overall performance and prudent financial planning across the sector.Reports also identified councils’ focus on improvement through stronger training for elected members and embedding stronger compliance monitoring and enforcement for environmental issues.LGNZ President Dave Cull says CouncilMARK™ offers councils and communities an independent assessment of how a council is performing, including areas of excellence and where it could find improvements.“CouncilMARK™ provides incredibly valuable information that can help councils with how they operate, what they’re getting right and where they could afford to put greater energy. And it gives communities the same information, allowing them an independent view of the work their local councils are doing,” Mr Cull says.“I congratulate Environment Canterbury and Upper Hutt City Council for showing leadership by joining the CouncilMARK™ excellence programme and on the completion of their first assessment.”“As a sector we understand we need to constantly show and grow our performance, and CouncilMARK™ offers an excellent opportunity to work towards that. LGNZ congratulates all councils to have participated in the programme so far and looks forward to the participation of all remaining councils.”