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Resolution
number WH/2014/55
MOVED by Chairperson CM Farmer, seconded by
Deputy Chairperson Zhu:
That the Whau Local Board:
a) Notes 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.
b) Notes 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.
c) Supports 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.
d) Requests that the engagement process and the work programme to
address service level equity issues (including asset provision) is agreed
with the local boards.
e) Endorses the process and timelines for the Local Boards Funding
Policy, provided that the work on service level equity issues (including
asset provision) is progressed in parallel to the local boards funding
policy.
f)
Requests that the work programme to
address service level equity issues (including asset provision) includes a
staging of the key deliverables, with prioritised asset classes and service
levels for review be presented to the Local Boards Funding Policy Political
Working Party on 6 May 2014.
g) Recommends 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.
h) Requests that work be undertaken 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
vi.
determine whether Business Improvement
District (BIDs) corporate overheads should be shifted to local asset based
services, as the administrative components (i.e. staffing) are allocated
based on the rate collected via the BID, and agreed by the BID and the
governing body, not the local boards.
i)
Notes that current locally driven
initiative allocations allow for minimal discretion for most local boards and
any reduction will impact on existing service levels.
j)
Notes that each of the general rate
reallocation scenarios (scenarios A, B and F) will lead to funding increases
and decreases across the local boards.
k) Recommends that general rate allocation scenarios are developed
(potentially phased in over time) where no local board receives any reduction
in funding.
l)
Notes a targeted rate is available to
enhance service levels above an agreed standard service level, once standard
service levels are established.
m) Recommends that:
i.
asset based service levels are funded
by the general rate.
ii.
locally driven initiatives are funded
via the general rate as local initiatives are core council activities,
essential to cohesive communities and Auckland being the world’s most liveable
city.
n) Notes that local rates can lead to inequity and affordability
issues and can lock in legacy council funding models.
o) Recommends that with respect to the allocation methodology for
locally driven initiatives under general rate funding, agree that population
should be 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
p) Forwards these resolutions to the
Local Boards Funding Policy Political Working Party and the Finance and
Performance Committee for their consideration.
q) Supports General Rates fund
allocation based on 90% - resident population size and 10% - deprivation
index (as per scenario F in the attachment – Page 29).
CARRIED
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