The scope of a review into Enterprise Dunedin may not be comprehensive, because of cost, but city councillor Andrew Whiley says the point of the exercise will still be achieved.

Everything he had asked for would be covered, he said.

Enterprise Dunedin is the Dunedin City Council’s economic development and destination marketing agency and the council decided in November last year to seek a review of the operation.

However, it was disclosed by Cr Whiley last week the cost might have been "eye-watering" — certainly more than $100,000 — "and I wasn’t going to put council through that".

An undisclosed quote from EY (formerly Ernst & Young) was not taken up and My Governance was instead contracted to run the first phase of a two-phase review.

Cr Whiley is chairman of the council’s economic development committee.

An update report for a council meeting last week said EY was initially contacted to explore the feasibility of conducting the Enterprise Dunedin review alongside its review of Dunedin Venues Management.

The aim was to leverage information already gathered in that process, council staff said.

EY proposed "a comprehensive scope", but Cr Whiley deemed the costs prohibitive and he advised staff to revise the approach.

Staff said the scope was divided into two phases "to ensure a thorough yet cost-effective review".

The first phase, expected to cost about $15,000, would involve defining strategic priorities and assessing previous reports and stakeholder consultation.

The second phase would provide recommendations about governance, operational models and implementation strategies.

"This phased approach ensures a structured, data-driven evaluation of Enterprise Dunedin, allowing for well-informed decision-making regarding its future direction," staff said.

Cr Lee Vandervis extracted that the EY figure exceeded $100,000 after objecting to lack of information.

"If we’re going to make decisions on costs, and we’re not allowed to know what those costs are, then I have a real problem," he said.

Cr Vandervis abstained from a vote about noting the update.

Council policy and partnerships manahautū (general manager) Nicola Morand told the Otago Daily Times the amount quoted by EY would have meant the council could not remain within its approved Enterprise Dunedin budget for the financial year.

"EY provided a comprehensive proposal," she said.

"While we have selected another provider, the primary purpose — to review the operation of Enterprise Dunedin — will still be achieved."

She was asked if the council suggested a more limited scope to EY and replied "yes, but the cost remained prohibitive".

The final report and recommendations will be presented to councillors at the end of July.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz