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Resolution number MR/2014/203
MOVED
by Chairperson AM Dalton, seconded by Member MJ Bailey:
That the Manurewa
Local Board:
a) endorse the Community
Grants Policy as a regional framework for the Auckland Council community
grants programme, noting that the local board will be supported to develop an
individual schedule to the policy that sets out the specific outcomes,
priorities and structure of their local grants programme.
b) provide the following feedback
on the Community Grants Policy:
i) Local grants programme
1) supports the provisions of the local grants programme, as it
provides local boards with the flexibility to establish a range of funding
schemes which reflect the priorities identified in the Auckland Plan and
aligned local board plans.
2) supports the provisions for local boards to approve their local
grants programme for each financial year, in accordance with the draft Community
Grants Policy. This includes:
·
drawing upon local board plans to determine
priority areas for community grants
·
the total budget available for community
grants for the financial year
·
the ability to ring-fence a portion of
their budget for specific purposes or recurring, multi-year grants
·
any additional accountability and
performance measures relating to recurring, multi-year grants
·
the number of funding rounds per year
·
the mechanism for recipients to report back
on how their grant benefitted the community
·
any additional exclusions
·
any thresholds for local grants.
3) recommends that local boards have the discretion to set their own
thresholds for local grants, rather than adopting the proposed ‘up to $1,000
for Fast Response Local Grants’ and ‘over $1,000 for Local Grants’
thresholds.
4)
supports the draft Community grants
policy provisions for multi-board grants, to be utilised as appropriate and
at the discretion of local boards. Implementing this mechanism gives local
boards the discretion to determine if existing joint funding committees will
continue or not, which may mean the transitional phase as outlined in the
report is not required.
ii) Regional grants programme
5)
supports a Regional grants programme
which is focused on providing multi-year strategic relationship grants and
with key groups and organisations.
6)
supports the creation of strategic
regional grant schemes which support the implementation of the Auckland Plan
and related strategic action plans to achieve agreed outcomes and priorities.
7)
recommends that opportunities be sought
to maximise the use of regional grants where they can support, and add value
to projects, activities and programmes provided locally or across multiple
local boards.
8)
note that in supporting the Regional
grants programme, the current financial climate needs to be taken into
account and requests as part of the Long-term Plan, work be undertaken to
investigate the redistribution of annual contestable and recurring grant
budgets held by operational departments are mapped to local boards, given
their key role in community development
9)
recommends that no community grants
budgets that are currently administered by local boards or joint funding
committees are reallocated for the purposes of implementing the Regional
grants programme.
iii) Other identified issues
10) recommends that relevant staff from the Community Development,
Arts and Culture, Parks, Sport and Recreation and Infrastructure and
Environmental Services report to local boards with a work programme and
communications plan, including key dates and milestones to implement the new
Community grants policy in preparation for the 2015/2016 financial year.
11) requests that the Operations Division explore an integrated, and
simple approach to administering the various grants programmes for the
benefit of applicants, and also seek to locate a more efficient and effective
way for all departments to work together to provide local boards with
support, analysis, advice and monitoring of community grants.
c) support the proposal to
participate in an interim ‘multi-board cluster’ with Franklin Local Board, Howick Local Board, Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board,
Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Papakura Local Board and Manurewa Local Board
to consider jointly supporting projects and activities of mutual benefit,
noting that if this is agreed:
i) staff will work with
participating local boards to agree funding priorities and terms of reference
for the cluster
ii) participating local
boards will continue to hold their funds separately within the cluster, and
can choose whether or not to allocate funds towards individual grant applications
on a case-by-case basis
iii) additional multi-board
clusters can still be explored, and will be supported wherever feasible
iv) the cluster is a
transitional arrangement and would exist for the duration of the 2015/2016
financial year only, unless otherwise agreed by the participating local
boards.
CARRIED
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