Agenda of Henderson-Massey Local Board

I hereby give notice that an ordinary meeting of the Henderson-Massey Local Board will be held on:

Date:

Time:

Meeting Room:

Venue:

Thursday, 4 February 2016

6.30pm

Council Chamber
Henderson Civic Centre
6 Henderson Valley Road
Henderson

Henderson-Massey Local Board

OPEN AGENDA

MEMBERSHIP

Chairperson	Vanessa Neeson, JP
Deputy Chairperson	Shane Henderson
Members	Brenda Brady, JP
	Peter Chan, JP
	Warren Flaunty, QSM
	Will Flavell
	Tracy Kirkley
	Luke Wilson

(Quorum 4 members)

Glenn Boyd

(Relationship Manager)

Local Board Services (West)

Busola Martins

Local Board Democracy Advisor

29 January 2016

Contact Telephone: (09) 440 7323

Email: busola.martins@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Henderson-Massey Local Board

04 February 2016

ITEM TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

1 Welcome/Prayer 5

2 Apologies 5

3 Declaration of Interest 5

4 Confirmation of Minutes 5

5 Leave of Absence 5

6 Acknowledgements 5

7 Ward Councillor’s Update 5

8 Deputations 5

9 Public Forum 5

10 Extraordinary Business 5

11 Notices of Motion 6

12 Draft Local Government Election Year Policy for Elected Members 7

13 Consideration of Extraordinary Items

1 Welcome/Prayer

2 Apologies

At the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.

3 Declaration of Interest

Members are reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other external interest they might have.

The following are declared interests of the members of the Henderson-Massey local board:

BOARD MEMBER	ORGANISATION	POSITION
Vanessa Neeson, JP (Chairman)	Ranui Sector Trial	Chair
Shane Henderson (Deputy Chairman)	Waitemata Community Law Centre Ranui Action Project	Employee Co-Chairman
Brenda Brady, JP	Safer West Community Trust District Licensing Committee	Trustee Member
Peter Chan, JP	Cantonese Opera Society of NZ Asian Leaders Forum NZ-Hong Kong Business Ass. NZ-China Business Ass. Auckland Chinese Environment Protection Association (ACEPA)	Member Member Member Member Advisor
Warren Flaunty, QSM	Westgate Pharmacy NorSGA Properties Westgate Pharmacy Ltd The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd Rodney Local Board Waitemata District Health Board Waitakere Licensing Trust Massey Birdwood Settlers Ass. Taupaki Residents & Ratepayers Ass.	Contractor Director Director Director Elected Member Elected Member Elected Member Member Member
Will Flavell	Rutherford College Literacy Waitakere Board	Employee Member
Tracy Kirkley	District Licensing Committee	Member
Luke Wilson	NZ Police D.A.R.E. - West Waitakere Rotary – Board member Silver Fern Motor Sports - Board	Employee Member Board member Board member

4 Confirmation of Minutes

That the Henderson-Massey Local Board:

a) Confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Thursday, 10 December 2015, including the confidential section, as a true and correct record.

5 Leave of Absence

At the close of the agenda no requests for leave of absence had been received.

6 Acknowledgements

At the close of the agenda no requests for acknowledgements had been received.

7 Ward Councillor’s Update

Ward Councillors are given an opportunity to update the board on regional matters that impact the Henderson-Massey local board.

8 Deputations

Standing Order 3.20 provides for deputations. Those applying for deputations are required to give seven working days notice of subject matter and applications are approved by the Chairperson of the Henderson-Massey Local Board. This means that details relating to deputations can be included in the published agenda. Total speaking time per deputation is ten minutes or as resolved by the meeting.

At the close of the agenda no requests for deputations had been received.

9 Public Forum

A period of time (approximately 30 minutes) is set aside for members of the public to address the meeting on matters within its delegated authority. A maximum of 3 minutes per item is allowed, following which there may be questions from members.

At the close of the agenda no requests for public forum had been received.

10 Extraordinary Business

Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“An item that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-

(a) The local authority by resolution so decides; and

(b) The presiding member explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-

(i) The reason why the item is not on the agenda; and

(ii) The reason why the discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”

Section 46A(7A) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states:

“Where an item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-

(a) That item may be discussed at that meeting if-

(i) That item is a minor matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and

(ii) the presiding member explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but

(b) no resolution, decision or recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”

11 Notices of Motion

At the close of the agenda no requests for notices of motion had been received.

Henderson-Massey Local Board

04 February 2016

Draft Local Government Election Year Policy for Elected Members

File No.: CP2015/27416

Purpose

1. To provide comments to the governing body on the draft “Local Government Election Year Policy for Elected Members”.

Executive Summary

2. This report attaches the draft policy which will be considered by the governing body at its meeting on 25 February 2016, along with comments from local boards.

3. The policy applies during an election year, which is the time that some sitting members may be “wearing two hats”. One role is as an elected member, making the decisions of the Auckland Council. The other role is as a candidate for the next elections. The policy sets out how to distinguish between these two roles. The “pre-election” period (three months prior to the election) is a particularly sensitive period.

4. The draft policy is based on the policy that was presented to local boards and the governing body in 2013 and reflects guidance provided to public sector entities by the State Services Commission and by the Office of the Auditor General.

5. It has been reformatted to:

· make it clearer it is principle-based

· remove some of the policy relating to staff conduct, which will be contained in a separate organisational policy for staff

· include a “Frequently Asked Questions” section giving additional guidance to common questions that confront elected members.

6. The body of the report provides comments raised by local boards in 2013 and the responses to them as contained in the report to the governing body.

Recommendation/s

That the Henderson-Massey Local Board:

a) Consider its comments on the draft “Local Government Election Year Policy for Elected Members”.

Comments

7. Previous comments from local boards that were reported to the governing body in 2013, along with responses, are below.

8. Two local boards queried the requirement that elected member bodies do not criticise decisions of other elected member bodies in council publications and one sought clarification regarding who the arbiter of this is.

· This principle is included on the basis that it is considered inappropriate for different parts of council to be publicly criticising each other’s decisions in council-resourced communications. This principle operates once a decision has been made. Auckland Council’s decision-making process provides several opportunities, prior to a decision being made, for local boards and the governing body to advocate for a particular position. There are no restrictions on elected members’ use of non-council funded news media or publicity, other than the standards of behaviour required by the Code of Conduct.

· The Manager, Communications and Public Affairs, is responsible for ensuring that council-funded publications adhere to council’s policies.

9. One local board expressed a view that the pre-election period was one month too early.

· The pre-election period of three months is defined in the OAG guidelines and applies nationally for all local government elections.

10. One local board requested information on sanctions that will be put in place to ensure elected member candidates adhere to the policies.

· The Election Year Policy now includes a section on breaches of the policy. This is based on a similar section in the Code of Conduct and provides that the chief executive will consider and take appropriate action on a case by case basis in response to complaints about breaches of the policy. This may include involving the electoral officer depending on the nature of the alleged breach.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

11. This report provides an opportunity for the local board to record its views on the draft policy.

Māori impact statement

12. The attached policies are for the guidance of all elected members and are of equal relevance to Māori and non-Māori.

Implementation

13. Once adopted, the policies will be forwarded to all elected members.

Attachments