I hereby give notice that an extraordinary meeting of the Great Barrier Local Board will be held on:

Date:                   Time: Meeting Room: Venue:	Wednesday, 22 June 2016 1.00pm Claris Conference Centre 19 Whangaparapara Road Claris Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Local Board OPEN AGENDA

MEMBERSHIP

Chairperson	Izzy Fordham
Deputy Chairperson	Susan Daly
Members	Jeff Cleave
	Judy Gilbert
	Christina Spence

(Quorum 3 members)

Guia Nonoy

Democracy/Engagement Advisor

14 June 2016

Contact Telephone: (09) 301 0101

Email: guia.nonoy@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Great Barrier Local Board 22 June 2016

ITEM   TABLE OF CONTENTS            PAGE

1          Welcome                                                                                                                        5

2          Apologies                                                                                                                      5

3          Declaration of Interest                                                                              5

4          Leave of Absence                                                                                                         5

5          Acknowledgements                                                                                   5

6          Petitions                                                                                                     5

7          Deputations                                                                                                5

8          Public Forum                                                                                                                5

9          Extraordinary Business                                                                            5

10        Notices of Motion                                                                                      6

11        Draft 2016 Elected Members’ Expenses Policy                                      7

12        Consideration of Extraordinary Items 

PUBLIC EXCLUDED

13        Procedural Motion to Exclude the Public                                                                27

C1       Ngati Rehua Ngatiwai ki Aotea Treaty Settlement                               27

1 Welcome

Chairperson IM Fordham will welcome everyone in attendance. Member JC Cleave will lead a karakia.

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.

4          Leave of Absence

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

5 Acknowledgements

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

6 Petitions

At the close of the agenda no requests to present petitions had been received.

7 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 Great Barrier 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.

8 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.

9 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.”

10 Notices of Motion

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

Great Barrier Local Board 22 June 2016

Draft 2016 Elected Members’ Expenses Policy

File No.: CP2016/12009

Purpose

1.      To seek the views of the Great Barrier Local Board on the draft 2016 Auckland Council Elected Members’ Expenses Policy.

Executive summary

2.      Each electoral term, the Remuneration Authority requires all councils to adopt an expenses policy and forward the adopted policy to the Remuneration Authority for its approval.

3.      The expense policy provides the rules for elected members’ reimbursement for expenses they incur whilst performing their duties.

4.      The governing body last adopted an expenses policy in July 2014. The Remuneration Authority has requested the council’s policy for July 2016 – June 2019. The governing body will be asked to adopt the 2016 policy at their 21July Finance and Performance Committee meeting.

5.      Staff have reviewed the operation of the current policy and have updated the policy to:

·    have clear principles of what is considered appropriate elected member expenditure

·    remove the duplication of Remuneration Authority allowance tables

·    replace complicated travel, development and conference attendance  approvals with a ‘one up’ approach that requires senior elected member or senior staff approval.

6.      The amended policy is attached.  In addition to the substantive changes, the language and presentation of the policy have been updated to make it more accessible.

Recommendation/s

That the Great Barrier Local Board:

a)      Provide comments on the draft 2016 Elected Members’ Expense Policy to the governing body.

Comments

7.      The Remuneration Authority (the Authority) sets remuneration for elected positions in local government annually. It also sets the rules for reimbursement of costs met by members in undertaking their duties.

8.      In its determination, the Authority details some work-related expenses for elected members:

·        the maximum allowances payable by councils to elected members for certain activities, such as transport and communications

·        The criteria for and amounts payable to, elected members sitting on resource consent hearings.

9.      Additionally, the Authority determines the nature of reimbursements made to elected members for costs undertaken on council business.

10.    The Authority requires each council to adopt an expenses policy. The current policy was last approved in July 2014.  It is necessary to review and update the policy prior to sending it to the Authority for approval.

11.    The Auckland Council Elected Members’ Expenses Policy (the policy) sets out the council’s rules under which elected members may be reimbursed or paid allowances for personal costs that arise in the course of council business.

12.    In the draft policy, general travel, accommodation and insurance claim rules have been retained. The continued requirement for a business case for international travel and the publication of all elected member expenditure will ensure transparency. Staff will continue to support the elected members with the required paperwork. The proposed changes relate to the authorisation of expenditure and the introduction of the council’s Elected Member Development Programme.

Substantive changes

Professional development and attendance at conferences

13.    The new policy includes provisions related to the 2016-2019 Elected Member Development Programme. Professional development included in the core professional development programme will be pre-authorised. This means that elected members will not be required to provide a business case for development or attendance at conferences that are covered by the l development programme.

14.    Pre-authorisation is subject to the principles of the policy. The funds must be budgeted for and authorised by the appropriate senior manager.

15.    If elected members want to undertake l development activities outside the elected members’ core l development programme, a written request must be made to the Manager Democracy Service or the Manager Local Board Services.

Domestic travel approval

16.    Changes have been made to approvals. The draft policy reflects a ‘one up’ approach that requires senior elected member or senior staff approval.

17.    Currently elected members are required to seek authorisation from a senior staff member and either the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the chair of a committee of the whole or the chair of their local board.

18.    To make authorisations more efficient the draft policy has been amended to allow the Governance Director or the Manager Democracy Services to authorise travel and sundry expense claims for governing body members.

19.    For local board members, the draft policy has been amended with the Governance Director proposed as the approver for local board members and chairpersons.

International travel approval

20.    For international travel for the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, in addition to the Chief Executive, the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee has been added as an approver. This gives additional flexibility for approval if the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee is not available at that time.

21.    For all other elected members the draft policy proposes that the Mayor or Deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee and the Chief Executive or the Governance Director are the approvers.

22.    For sundry expense claims following international travel, the draft policy has been amended to allow the Chief Executive or the Governance Director to authorise the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor claims; the Governance Director or Manager Democracy Services to authorise governing body member claims; and the Governance Director or the Manager Local Board Services to authorise local board member claims.  

23.    The probity check to this approach is threefold:

·    the trip must meet the principles of the policy

·    it must be authorised by a senior elected member or senior staff member (a ‘one up’ authorisation) and

·    all expenditure incurred by elected members on council business continues to be published.

24.    The new approvals are in the table below. Changes are underlined.

Table 1. Changes to approvals

Item	Proposed	Previous term
Approvals for domestic travel outside of Auckland – Mayor	No change	·    The Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee ·    or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee
Approvals for domestic travel outside of Auckland – Deputy Mayor	·    The Mayor or ·    The Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance	·    The Mayor ·    or the Chair of a Committee of the Whole
Approvals for domestic travel outside of Auckland – councillors	The Governance Director or the Manager Democracy Services	·    The Deputy Mayor ·    or the Chair of a Committee of the Whole
Approvals for domestic travel outside of Auckland – local board Chair	The Governance Director or the Manager Local Board Services	·    Governance Director ·    and report to business  meeting
Approvals for domestic travel outside of Auckland – local board members	The Governance Director or the Manager Local Board Services	·    The Local Board Chair ·    and report to business  meeting
Approvals for international travel - Mayor	·    A business case and both: ·    The Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee ·    And the Chief Executive	A business case and both: ·    the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee ·    and the Chief Executive
Approvals for international travel– Deputy Mayor	·    A business case and both: ·    The Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee ·   And the Chief Executive	A business case and Both: ·    the Mayor or the Chair of a Committee of the Whole ·    and the Chief Executive
Approvals for international travel – Governing Body members	·    A business case and both: ·    The Mayor or the Deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee ·   And the Chief Executive or Governance Director	A business case and Both: ·    the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor ·    and the Chief Executive or the Director Governance
Approvals for international travel – local board members	·    A business case and both: ·    The Mayor or the Deputy Mayor or the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee or the Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee ·   And the Chief Executive or Governance Director	A business case and Both: ·    Endorsement by the Local Board ·    then approval by the Chief Executive or the Director Governance If urgent approval is needed: ·    Endorsement by the Chair ·    then approval by the Chief Executive or the Director Governance ·    then retrospective endorsement by the Local Board
Development programmes and conferences	Pre-approved, subject to the cost falling within the annual professional development budget	Various authorisation depending on the role of the requester
Hosting official visitors	If necessary, budget holder approval	Personal expenditure can be reimbursed

25.    Other changes have been made throughout the policy to update, clarify or align the policy with current good practice. In addition the language and presentation of the policy have been updated to make it more accessible.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

26.    This report is seeking local board views.

Māori impact statement

27.    This policy is a requirement of the Remuneration Authority. It is for internal use and does not have specific implications for Māori.

Implementation

28.    The Elected Members’ Expenses Policy will come into force once approved by the Remuneration Authority. This is expected to be in July 2016.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
aView	Draft Auckland Council Elected Members’ Expense Policy 2016	13

Signatories

Author	Jo Iles, Business Hub Manager, Democracy Services
Authorisers	Marguerite Delbet - Manager Democracy Services Lou Lennane - Acting Manager Local Board Services John Nash – Relationship Manager

Great Barrier Local Board 22 June 2016

Great Barrier Local Board 22 June 2016

Exclusion of the Public: Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

That the Great Barrier Local Board:

a)      exclude the public from the following part(s) of the proceedings of this meeting.

The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution follows.

This resolution is made in reliance on section 48(1)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the particular interest or interests protected by section 6 or section 7 of that Act which would be prejudiced by the holding of the whole or relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting in public, as follows:

C1       Ngati Rehua Ngatiwai ki Aotea Treaty Settlement

Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Particular interest(s) protected (where applicable)	Ground(s) under section 48(1) for the passing of this resolution
The public conduct of the part of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding exists under section 7.	s7(2)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations). In particular, the report contains confidential information on the Ngati Rehua Ngatiwai ki Aotea Treaty Settlement package as it relates to the responsibilities of the Great Barrier Local Board.	s48(1)(a) The public conduct of the part of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding exists under section 7.