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Resolution number RD/2014/73
MOVED
by Member WW Flaunty, seconded by Deputy Chairperson SR Garner:
That the Rodney Local Board:
a) recommend that locally driven initiatives be supported by a local rate as this
will:
i)
provide transparency as local communities
will understand the local services they are funding.
ii)
make local boards more accountable for
the decisions they make in providing local services to their communities.
b) support the
20 February 2014 Finance and Performance Committee resolution directing staff
to consider service level equity issues for local asset based services as
part of the development of the Long Term Plan and asset management plans and
engage with local boards on this and report back on a timetable.
c) request as
a priority that the full Local Board Funding Policy Political Working Party
with the governing body and local board members, schedule a number of key
meetings prior to the endorsement of the draft policy to ensure robust and
full discussion of the local boards’ views.
d)
request that work on service level
equity issues is progressed in parallel to the Local Boards Funding Policy
and a work programme agreed with the local boards.
e)
request that work be undertaken prior
to the draft policy being confirmed to:
i)
determine the appropriate amount of
budget for local boards to successfully deliver upon their role, noting the
current allocation is based on legacy council budgets.
ii)
determine whether more activities and
the corresponding funding should sit in the locally driven initiatives
category.
iii) identify programme budgets to move to local board budgets as
current local budgets are dominated by overhead costs with little funding for
programmes.
iv) investigate programme budgets held by the Community Development,
Arts and Culture department, in particular, given the key role for local
boards in community development.
v)
investigate and improve the methodology
of allocating overheads across the local boards as currently different
approaches are used across activities.
f)
note that current locally driven
initiative allocations allow for minimal discretion for most local boards and
any reduction will impact on existing service levels
g)
note that each of the general rate
reallocation scenarios (scenarios A, B and F) will lead to funding increases
and decreases across the local boards
h)
support the ability for local boards to
propose a targeted rate to enhance service levels above an agreed standard
service level, once standard service levels are established.
i)
note that local rates can lead to
inequity and affordability issues it is unlikely that any funding model will
provide for regional equity or address affordability issues if council is to
achieve the aspirations of the Auckland Plan.
j)
recommend that further work be
undertaken on local board asset based services to determine:
i)
consistent levels of service
ii) identify gaps in network provision and funding inequities
iii) the appropriate mechanism to fund these activities (i.e. the
general rate, local rate or a combination of both)
iv) the impacts any change will have on the Long Term Plan’s
decision making allocation.
k)
recommend that if not accepted in the
draft Local Board Funding Policy the Rodney Local Board agrees that the
allocation methodology for locally driven initiatives under general rate
funding should have population as the main factor, as population tends to be
a key driver of the demand for services:
i)
and that an adjustment for deprivation
should also be applied, as areas of deprivation have characteristics that may
indicate a greater dependency on local services and this should be no
greater than 10%.
ii)
and that an adjustment for geographic
isolation should also be applied.
iii) and that an adjustment for growth should also be applied to ensure
that local boards who are experiencing growth has this factored into any
locally driven initiatives allocation.
l)
recommend that clarity on the treatment
of both the Waiheke and Great Barrier local boards, and understanding the
implications for the other local boards is required prior to the adoption of
the policy.
m) forward these resolutions to the Local Boards Funding Policy
Political Working Party and the Finance and Performance Committee for their
consideration.
n)
note that council has moved towards a
single rating system resulting in the region being rated on an equal basis.
However, equity in asset and service provision has not yet been addressed.
o)
note that locally driven initiatives
and local asset based services account for approximately one and ten percent,
respectively, of council’s total operating costs, and recommend that further
work is undertaken to determine whether 11 percent of Auckland Council’s
budget is an appropriate share for local activities.
p)
note that there are funding and service
delivery differences between urban and rural local boards and the future policy
must reflect this difference in delivery.
q)
delegate any minor alterations to the
feedback to Members Steele and Pirrie to confirm the final details.
CARRIED
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