Agenda of Kaipātiki Local Board

1 Welcome

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 Auckland Council Code of Conduct for Elected Members (the Code) requires elected members to fully acquaint themselves with, and strictly adhere to, the provisions of Auckland Council’s Conflicts of Interest Policy. The policy covers two classes of conflict of interest:

i) A financial conflict of interest, which is one where a decision or act of the local board could reasonably give rise to an expectation of financial gain or loss to an elected member; and

ii) A non-financial conflict interest, which does not have a direct personal financial component. It may arise, for example, from a personal relationship, or involvement with a non-profit organisation, or from conduct that indicates prejudice or predetermination.

The Office of the Auditor General has produced guidelines to help elected members understand the requirements of the Local Authority (Member’s Interest) Act 1968. The guidelines discuss both types of conflicts in more detail, and provide elected members with practical examples and advice around when they may (or may not) have a conflict of interest.

Copies of both the Auckland Council Code of Conduct for Elected Members and the Office of the Auditor General guidelines are available for inspection by members upon request.

Any questions relating to the Code or the guidelines may be directed to the Relationship Manager in the first instance.

4 Confirmation of Minutes

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Wednesday, 15 March 2017, 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 Petitions

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

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 Kaipātiki 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.

8.1 Ruth Jackson and Cindy Sparnes-Koroi

Purpose

1. The purpose of this deputation is to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the boat at Larkings Landing.

Executive Summary

2. Ruth Jackson and Cindy Sparnes-Koroi will be in attendance to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the boat at Larkings Landing.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) receive the deputation from Ruth Jackson and Cindy Sparnes-Koroi.

b) thank Ruth Jackson and Cindy Sparnes-Koroi for their attendance and presentation.

8.2 Birkenhead Town Centre Association

Purpose

1. The purpose of this deputation is to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the Birkenhead Mainstreet upgrade.

Executive Summary

2. Peter Taylor of the Birkenhead Town Centre Association will be in attendance to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the Birkenhead Mainstreet upgrade.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) receive the deputation from Peter Taylor of the Birkenhead Town Centre Association.

b) thank Peter Taylor and the Birkenhead Town Centre Association for their attendance and presentation.

8.3 Birkenhead Residents Association

Purpose

1. The purpose of this deputation is to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the Birkenhead Mainstreet upgrade.

Executive Summary

2. Gillian Taylor of the Birkenhead Residents Association will be in attendance to address the Kaipātiki Local Board regarding the Birkenhead Mainstreet upgrade.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) receive the deputation from Gillian Taylor of the Birkenhead Residents Association.

b) thank Gillian Taylor and the Birkenhead Residents Association for their attendance and presentation.

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.

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

Kaipātiki Quick Response, Round Three 2016/2017

File No.: CP2017/00083

Purpose

1. The purpose of this report is to present applications received for the Kaipātiki Quick Response Round Three 2016/2017. The local board is required to fund, part fund or decline these applications.

Executive summary

2. The Kaipātiki Local Board has set a total community grants budget of $10,000 for quick response grants for the 2016/2017 financial year.

3. A total of $810 was allocated under Quick Response Round One 2016/2017, and $500 was allocated under Quick Response Round Two 2016/2017, thus leaving a balance of $8,690 to be allocated for the remainder of the 2016/2017 financial year. The board has one more remaining Quick Response funding round for the 2016/2017 financial year, with applications presented to the board for decision-making at its May business meeting.

4. 13 applications were received for Quick Response Round Three 2016/2017, with a total amount requested of $6,065.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) consider the applications listed in the table below for Quick Response Round Three 2016/2017 and agree to fund, part fund or decline each application in this round.

Application No.	Organisation Name	Project	Total Requested
QR1708-301	All Saints Birkenhead Scouts	Towards the purchase of lifejackets in February 2018	$500
QR1708-302	Beach Haven Scout Group	Towards the costs of the centerboard replacement in April 2017	$500
QR1708-306	Northcote Toy Library	Towards the rental cost of the post office box between March 2017 to March 2018	$175
QR1708-307	Saint Mark Scout Group	Towards the purchase of materials for the flag pole, purchase of a New Zealand flag, scout shirts and ropes between April to May 2017	$500
QR1708-309	De Paul House	Towards the purchase of a van between April to May 2017	$500
QR1708-312	Glenfield Community Centre Incorporated	Towards the purchase and installation of two skylights at 411 Glenfield Road, Glenfield in April 2017	$500
QR1708-315	Bays Youth Community Trust	Towards the costs of annual computer support between May to December 2017	$500
QR1708-317	PHAB Association Incorporated	Towards volunteer expenses and mobility transport for Takapuna PHAB social club	$500
QR1706-321	Gymnastics Community Trust	Towards the hireage of platforms and chairs in April 2017	$390
QR1708-303	Badminton North Harbour	Towards the purchase of shuttle cocks for the Badminton North Harbour junior development and after schools programme between April to July 2017	$500
QR1708-310	North Harbour Triathlon Club Inc.	Towards the costs of producing the newsletter between May to December 2017	$500
QR1708-313	Birkenhead City Cricket Club	Towards the purchase of trophies and engraving of the trophies in May 2017	$500
QR1708-316	Harbour Hockey	Towards the venue hire of the Shepherds Park and the salaries/wages for the coordinator and coaching for the Beach Haven Funsticks programme between May to August 2017	$500
Total requested			$6,065

Comments

5. The Auckland Council Community Grants Policy supports each local board to adopt a grants programme (refer Attachment A).

6. The local board grants programmes sets out:

· local board priorities;

· lower priorities for funding;

· exclusions;

· grant types, number of grant rounds and when these will open and close; and

· any additional accountability requirements.

7. The Kaipātiki Local Board will operate four quick response rounds for this financial year. The third quick response round closed on 10 March 2017. The fourth round closes in early April, with applications reported to the board’s May meeting for decision-making.

8. Community grant programmes have been extensively advertised through the council grants webpage, local board webpages, local board e-newsletter, Facebook pages, council publications, radio, and community networks.

9. For the 2016/2017 financial year, the Kaipātiki Local Board set a total quick response grant budget of $10,000. The Kaipātiki Local Board allocated $810 in Quick Response Round One 2016/2017, and $500 in Quick Response Round Two 2016/2017, leaving a total of $8,690 to allocate for the remainder of 2016/2017.

10. 13 applications were received for this quick response grants round, requesting a total of $6,065.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

11. Local boards are responsible for the decision-making and allocation of local board community grants. The Kaipātiki Local Board is required to fund, part-fund or decline these grant applications against the local board priorities identified in the local board grant programme.

12. The local board is requested to note that section 50 of the Community Grants Policy states

“We will also provide feedback to unsuccessful grant applicants about why they have been declined, so they will know what they can do to increase their chances of success next time.”

13. A summary of each application is attached (refer Attachment B).

Māori impact statement

14. The provision of community grants provide opportunities for all Aucklanders to undertake projects, programmes and activities that benefit a wider range of individuals and groups, including Māori. As a guide for decision-making in the allocation of community grants, the new Community Grants Policy supports the principle of delivering positive outcomes for Māori. There are no organisations applying in this round that have identified as Māori and one applicant has indicated their project targets Māori or Māori outcomes.

Implementation

15. The allocation of grants to community groups is within the adopted Long-term Plan 2015-2025 and local board agreements.

16. Following the Kaipātiki Local Board allocating funding for Quick Response Round Three, Commercial and Finance staff will notify the applicant of the local board’s decision.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇨	Kaipātiki Local Board Grants Programme (Under Separate Cover)
b ⇨	Quick Response Round Three applications (Under Separate Cover)

Signatories

Authors

Caroline Teh - Community Grants Advisor

Authorisers

Marion Davies - Community Grants Operations Manager

Jennifer Rose - Operations Support Manager

Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

Business Improvement District (BID) Programme Annual Report to Kaipātiki Local Board

File No.: CP2017/04286

Purpose

1. This report provides information to Kaipātiki Local Board regarding accountability for Business Improvement District (BID) programme targeted rate grant funding for the two business associations operating BID programmes in the board’s area.

2. The report is a requirement of the Auckland Council BID Policy (2016), which came into effect on 1 July 2016.

Executive summary

3. The 2016 Auckland Council BID Policy was developed to encourage improved governance of BID committees and management, which will improve financial methods, programme delivery and transparency to their members.

4. This report indicates business associations’ compliance with the BID Policy. Information presented is based on documents submitted by BID programmes to council’s BID team to date. The report recommends whether the local board should recommend to the governing body to strike the targeted rate for BID programmes in their area in the coming financial year, based on their compliance with the policy.

5. The BIDs covered by this report are operated by:

· the Birkenhead Business Association; and

· the Northcote Town Centre Association.

Recommendations

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) recommends to the governing body to strike the targeted rate for the Birkenhead Business Improvement District programme for the 2017/18 financial year and include this amount in the 2017-2018 Annual Plan.

b) defer recommending striking the targeted rate for the Northcote Business Improvement District programme for the 2017-18 financial year pending a report to the board at the 21 June 2017 local board meeting, noting that the report will provide a full update on Northcote’s compliance with Business Improvement District policy requirements since the end of the 2015-2016 financial year, with recommendations based on Business Improvement District operations to date.

Comments

6. The Auckland Council Business Improvement District (BID) Policy 2016 outlines the principles behind the council BID programme and establishes the process for establishing, expanding, and terminating BIDs, as well prescribing standards and guidelines for operating BIDs. Accountability requirements are a key part of these standards. Attachment A provides a description of key elements of the BID programme.

Local board allocated decision-making

7. Local boards are allocated a number of governance and decision-making responsibilities. One of these is annually recommending BID programme targeted rates to the governing body to allow collection of targeted rate revenue for business associations that operate BID programmes. This action assures that the local board and their BIDs are in alignment on their goals for town centre development in their respective areas.

8. Approval of specific dollar amounts of BID targeted rates for each BID rests with the governing body as part of its approval of the 2017-2018 Annual Plan.

9. A number of local boards provide additional funding to local BIDs, but accountability for that funding is additional to the requirements under the BID Policy. If a local board makes an additional grant to a BID, the accountability requirements pertaining to that grant should be agreed as part of that grant process, and are not included in this report.

Compliance with BID Policy

10. The Auckland Council BID Policy (2016) is the means for council to ensure accountability for targeted rate funding by requiring regular reporting. Specifically, BIDs are required to provide council the following documents as approved at their annual general meeting (AGM):

· A current strategic plan – this shows that the BID has carefully considered medium to long term opportunities and has allocated resources to accomplished priorities.

· Signed audited accounts for the most recently completed fiscal year (required only every two years for smaller BIDs) - provides assurance that the BID is managing its members’ targeted rates funds responsibly.

· A report on the year just completed. – evidence that BID programmes address priorities of the strategic plan and benefits ratepayers.

· A business plan for the coming year – forward planning, based on the strategic plan, sets one-year goals.

· An indicative budget for the following year – Auckland Council’s Annual Plan requires targeted rates be identified a year in advance to coincide with the Annual Plan process which sets all rates.

· Programme agreement between each BID and council – this embodies basic parameters of the council/ BID relationship. It is renewed every three years, or a term mutually acceptable to council and the BID.

11. Birkenhead BIDs is in compliance with the BID Policy for the year 2015-2016 for the purpose of striking the BID targeted rate in the Annual Plan for 2017-2018.

12. Northcote BID is not in compliance with the BID Policy so striking the targeted rate should not be recommended at this time. A memo to the local board from Steven Branca, CCO Governance and External Partnerships, dated 15 March 2017 outlines a detailed review of progress on staff management of the BID, and steps leading to transfer of management back to the Northcote Town Centre committee in June 2017 with local board approval (refer Attachment E).

13. The level of compliance by the two Kaipātiki Local Board area businesses associations is indicated by Attachments B and C.

14. Some BIDs are planning an increase in their targeted rates revenue this year. For a comparison of BID targeted rates please refer to Attachment D.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

15. Recommending that the governing body strike the targeted rate for BIDs in the Kaipātiki Local Board area means that those BID programmes will continue to raise funds from targeted rates on ratepayers in their districts, and provide services in accordance with their members’ priorities as stated in their Strategic Plans.

16. At its meeting of 22 June 2016, the Kaipātiki Local Board resolved to withhold targeted rates funding from the Northcote Town Centre Business Association until full compliance with the BID Policy was achieved (resolution KT/2016/72). Council staff assumed management of the Northcote BID to assure that compliance with the policy would result by the end of the 2016-2017 financial year, at which point management of the BID would be returned to the business association.

17. At its meeting of 16 September 2016 the Kaipātiki Local Board reconfirmed its decision to withhold the targeted rate and maintain council staff management of the BID until BID Policy compliance was achieved (resolution KT/2016/130).

18. Withholding a recommendation to strike the targeted rate for the Northcote BID will not prevent the handover of the association to the committee in a timely manner, or the ability to include the targeted rate in the 2018-2019 Annual Plan if the board takes action to do so.

Māori impact statement

19. This decision will have no adverse effects on, or particular benefits to, the Maori population.

Implementation

20. If the Kaipātiki Local Board accepts the recommendations of this report, it will recommend to the governing body that the targeted rate for the Birkenhead BID be struck as stated in the 2017-2018 Annual Plan. It will defer the decision to strike the targeted rate for the Northcote BID until the June 2017 local board meeting. The governing body will approve specific dollar amounts for each BID as part of its approval of the Annual Plan.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇨	Key Elements of BID Programme (Under Separate Cover)
b ⇨	Birkenhead BID Compliance Table (Under Separate Cover)
c ⇨	Northcote BID Compliance Table (Under Separate Cover)
d ⇨	Targeted Rates Revenue Comparison Table All BIDs (Under Separate Cover)
e ⇨	Memo to Kaipātiki Local Board regarding Northcote BID 15 March 2017 (Under Separate Cover)

Signatories

Authors

Steven Branca - BID Partnership Advisor

Authorisers

Alastair Cameron - Manager - CCO Governance & External Partnerships

Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

Panuku Development Auckland Local Board Six-Monthly Update 1 September 2016 to 28 February 2017

File No.: CP2016/25322

Purpose

1. To give the Kaipātiki Local Board an overview of Panuku Development Auckland. The report also notes any major issues, projects and activities within the local board area for the six months 1 September 2016 to 28 February 2017.

Background

2. Panuku Development Auckland (Panuku) was established in September 2015 as a result of the merger of two CCOs – Waterfront Auckland and Auckland Council Property Limited (ACPL).

3. Panuku helps to rejuvenate parts of Auckland – from small projects that refresh a site or building, to major transformations of town centres or neighbourhoods.

4. Comprised of six directorates, Panuku manages around $1.5 billion of council’s property portfolio, which is continuously reviewed to find smart ways to generate income for the region, grow the portfolio or release land or property that can be better used by others.

5. Panuku works with government, iwi, not-for-profit and private organisations. It uses its skills, knowledge and connections to bring land and resources together to create the best outcome for Aucklanders.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) receive the Panuku Development Auckland Local Board Update 1 September 2016 to 28 February 2017

Local Activities

Unlock Northcote

6. Panuku is contributing commercial input into approximately 50 region wide council-driven renewal and housing supply initiatives.

7. Panuku works with partners and stakeholders over the life of projects. It also champions best practice project delivery to achieve best value outcomes within defined cost, time and quality parameters.

8. The roles and responsibilities of Panuku are customised to each specific project initiative and location. Northcote Town Centre is classified as an Unlock project, which means Panuku will work with partners and stakeholders to ‘unlock’ its potential. This will be done by acting as a facilitator; using relationships to break down barriers and influence others (including the council family) to create development opportunities.

9. Northcote is a vibrant, multi-cultural town centre with a great choice of food outlets and established community facilities. Local residents have told Auckland Council the town centre needs to be revitalised, and they want to see housing and commercial developments that strengthen the community and reinforce the local character.

10. Unlock Northcote was approved for development by the council’s Development Committee in December 2015. In March 2016 Panuku was given the mandate to progress with the planning for the development.

11. The Northcote renewal involves upgrading the town centre (which council owns) to improve amenities and connections between the centre and local homes. There is also the potential for new homes (including affordable housing and improved social housing) under the Auckland Unitary Plan.

12. Since this time Panuku has worked closely with the Kaipātiki Local Board, Hobsonville Land Company and other key stakeholders to progress to Framework Plan stage, which further defines development plans. Northcote poses a significant challenge to unlock in terms of the land ownership structure; however, unlocking this location has become clearer through this planning phase and progress is being made in four key moves:

· Town centre - a new retail, community and residential heart;

· Lake Road - cycling, pedestrian and public transport-focused community connector;

· Blue-Green Way - turning green infrastructure into community space - one community link, a series of experiences; and

· Housing - residential development across multiple sites – increasing housing choice and tenure mix.

13. The Framework Plan was approved by Panuku Board, with support from the Kaipātiki Local Board, in November 2016. Over the December -January period Panuku shared these plans with various community stakeholders and the wider public at a town square meeting, and at the Chinese Korean New Year festival.

14. The project is now in Implementation Phase which includes a programme business case and a project execution plan. The programme business case will be presented to the Panuku Board in March 2017.

15. Panuku will continue to work with the local board and project partners to actively engage and socialise proposed plans with the community, with particular focus initially on the ‘blue-green way’ that will provide connections via a network of open spaces through the town centre. A number of placemaking initiatives are also being explored with project partners, local champions and schools.

Portfolio Management

16. Panuku manages “non-service” property owned by the council and Auckland Transport (AT) that are not currently needed for service or infrastructure purposes. These are properties that are not immediately required for delivery of a council service or infrastructure development but are being held for use in a planned future project such as road construction, the expansion of parks or development of future town centres.

17. The property portfolio comprises 1,437 properties containing 1,119 leases as at 28 February 2017. The current portfolio includes vacant land, industrial buildings, warehouses, retail shops, cafes, offices, medical centres and a large portfolio of residential rental homes.

18. The return on the property portfolio for the period ending 31 December 2016 was above budget, with a net surplus to the Auckland Council (AC) and Auckland Transport (AT) shareholders of $3.9 million ahead of budget.

19. The average monthly tenantable occupancy rate for the 6 month period is more than 98% which is above the Statement of Intent (SOI) target of 95%.

Properties Managed in the Kaipātiki Local Board Area

20. Panuku Development Auckland currently manages 39 commercial and residential properties within the Kaipātiki Local Board area (refer Attachment A).

Commercial Properties	38
Residential Properties	1
Total Properties Managed	39

Business Interests

21. Panuku also optimises the commercial return from business interests it manages on council’s behalf. This comprises two forestry enterprises, two landfills and four quarries.

22. There are currently no managed business interests in the Kaipātiki Local Board area.

Portfolio Strategy

Optimisation

23. The 2015-2025 Long-Term Plan reflects a desire of council to materially reduce or slow down expenditure and unlock value from assets no longer required, or which are sub-optimal for service purposes. In response to this, prior to the establishment of Panuku, ACPL developed a new method of dealing with service property, called ‘optimisation’.

24. Asset optimisation deals with “service property”. It is self-funding, maximises efficiencies from service assets, and maintains levels of service whilst releasing property for sale or development. A key element of optimisation is that the sale proceeds are locally reinvested to advance approved projects and activities on a cost neutral basis. It does not include the Auckland Transport portfolio. Panuku continues to advance this programme of work which includes the development of a cross-council project to coordinate and execute asset sales and optimisation.

Portfolio Review and Rationalisation

Overview

25. Panuku is required to undertake ongoing rationalisation of the council’s non-service assets. This includes identifying properties from within council’s portfolio that may be suitable for potential sale and development if appropriate. Panuku has a particular focus on achieving housing and urban regeneration outcomes. Identifying potential sale properties contributes to the Auckland Plan focus of accommodating the significant growth projected for the region over the coming decades, by providing the council with an efficient use of capital and prioritisation of funds to achieve its activities and projects.

Performance

July 2016 to June 2017 Target

UNIT	TARGET	ACHIEVED	COMMENTS
Portfolio Review	$75 million disposal recommendations	$35.5 million as at 28 February 2017	These recommendations include $13.25 million of sites that are identified for development projects.

26. Panuku works closely with the council and AT to identify potentially surplus properties to help achieve disposal targets.

July 2017 to June 2018 Target

UNIT	TARGET	COMMENTS
Portfolio Review	To be determined as part of the statement of intent with Auckland Council.	The target will include disposal recommendations and sales for sites that are identified for housing development and urban regeneration projects.

Process

27. Once identified as a potential sale candidate, a property is taken through a multi-stage Rationalisation Process. The agreed process includes engagement with: the council, CCOs, the relevant local board and mana whenua. This is followed by Panuku Board approval, engagement with local ward councillors and the Independent Māori Statutory Board, and finally a governing body decision.

Under review

28. Properties currently under review in the Kaipātiki Local Board area are listed below. The list includes any properties that may have recently been approved for sale or development and sale by the governing body.

PROPERTY	DETAILS
24R Tarahanga Street (strip between 39 & 43 Onewa Road)	Returned to service with council’s Parks department following confirmation that the subject site is included as a planned and funded project in the Kaipātiki Connections Network Plan 2016.

Acquisitions and Disposals

29. Panuku manages the acquisition and disposal of property on behalf of Auckland Council. It buys property for development, roads, infrastructure projects and other service needs. Panuku manages the sale of properties that are surplus to Auckland Council requirements, which may be sold with or without contractual requirements for development.

Acquisitions

30. 12 properties have had purchase agreements signed this financial year for open space purposes around the region at a value of $19.1 million. Three properties have been purchased for storm water purposes at a value of $16.2 million.

31. No properties were purchased in the Kaipātiki Local Board area during the reporting period.

Disposals

32. For the eight months to February 2017, the Panuku disposals team has achieved $17.94 million of unconditional net sales proceeds from the sale of 10 properties against the 2016/17 disposals target of $20.0 million for the year. The disposals target is agreed with Auckland Council and is reviewed on an annual basis.

33. No properties were sold in the Kaipātiki Local Board area.

Housing for Older People

34. Council owns and operates 1,412 units located in 62 villages across Auckland to provide rental housing to older people in Auckland. The Housing for Older People (HfOP) project is an Auckland Council initiative that involves procuring a third party provider to partner with council in delivering the rental housing service.

35. Following the approval by the Panuku Board on 8 December 2015, the Auckland Development Committee noted that HfOP would be an Unlock project for Panuku, and that Panuku would prepare a High Level Project Plan (HLPP) that provided the foundation for it to develop and reposition the portfolio to better the needs of older people in Auckland.

36. The HLPP was approved by the Panuku Board in August 2016.

37. On 21 December 2015, Auckland Council announced that The Selwyn Foundation will be its preferred joint venture partner to manage the HfOP portfolio. Panuku has been negotiating a joint venture agreement with Selwyn. The Joint Venture Company (JVCo) will deliver the service and improve the housing portfolio.

38. A Community Housing Provider (CHP) application was submitted to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) by the JVCo on 20 December 2016.

39. Auckland Council has delegated Panuku to lead the development programme. A HLPP is being prepared by Panuku to cover the multi-year redevelopment of the network of village sites.

40. The following HfOP villages are located within the Kaipātiki Local Board area:

Village	Address	Number of units
Lancaster Court	90 Lancaster Road, Beach Haven	51
Hillcrest Court	19 Hillcrest Avenue, Hillcrest	15
Birkdale Court	2 Gatman Street, Birkdale	19
Piringa Court	140 Lake Road, Northcote	20
Greenslade Court	27-31 Greenslade Crescent, Northcote	12
Bentley Court	86 Bentley Avenue, Glenfield	21
Shepherds Park Village	2 John Bracken Way, Beach Haven	10

Regional Activities

41. Good progress has been made in Panuku priority development areas, with HLPPs being worked on for Onehunga, Papatoetoe, Avondale and Henderson. In Manukau and Northcote, leading on from the council’s approval of the HLPP, Framework Plans (which are more detailed plans on the development of the locations, including reference plans for each development site) have been developed.

42. Often it is the smaller projects that can make a huge difference in a community over a relatively short period – the placemaking activities, the development of public space, or the optimisation of council properties. Panuku is identifying these projects, and a key focus will be on delivering more of these projects within the locations that it works.

Highlights

43. The highlights for the last six months were:

a) Sir John Wells ended his term as chairperson in November. Sir John has had a long association with the Auckland Council family, including being chairperson of ACPL prior to its amalgamation into Panuku. Richard Aitken was appointed chairperson to replace Sir John.

b) Roger MacDonald was appointed as the Chief Executive of Panuku, and he started in the role in November 2016. Roger originates from the United Kingdom, and has delivered large scale urban redevelopment projects across the world, in Africa, the Middle East and in the UK.

c) The Panuku Board agreed that Barrowcliffe Place, Manukau is a “pilot project” to form a consortium comprising a CHP, with a mana whenua partner(s) and other suitable development and funding partner(s), to develop the site. The aim will be to deliver a mix of market and affordable housing where sustainable and accessible design components will be tested.

d) The first tenants have moved into the Mason Brothers building in the Wynyard Quarter. The building is part of stage one of Precinct Properties’ programme of developing the commercial sites in the Wynyard Quarter. The development of 12 Madden Street, which Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) have taken the head lease for the establishment of Grid AKL, will be completed in July 2017.

e) Stage Two of the Hobsonville Airfields Development was tendered, and a preferred tenderer has been selected after a number of tenderers submitted strong bids. The due diligence process is underway. The 9.9 hectare site will see 500 homes of mixed typology constructed.

f) Lot 1, 187 Flat Bush Road was also tendered and a development agreement has been signed. 30 homes will be constructed on the 1.9 hectare site, with construction commencing within a year of the sale.

g) The ASB Waterfront Theatre was opened on 22 September 2016. Panuku (on behalf of Auckland Council) provided the site, contributed to the funding and provided design review and oversight for the project. The theatre is a key component of the activation of the Wynyard Quarter.

h) The Water Edge Symposium was held in November 2016, with invited waterfront experts attending from the United States, Asia, Europe and the Pacific. As well as discussing international case studies, the symposium workshopped ideas about how to develop the Onehunga/Manukau harbour water edge, and this thinking is feeding into the planning for the Onehunga Transform project.

i) The Silo Park Summer Programme has seen thousands of people visit the waterfront over the summer period, to enjoy the night markets, catch movies at the Silo Cinema, and enjoy the various forms of entertainment on offer, cementing the waterfront as the place to be in Auckland over summer.

j) After an audit of Panuku against ACC’s Workplace Safety Management Practices external accreditation, Panuku attained Tertiary standard, reflecting its commitment to continual improvement in health and safety.

Future outlook

44. Over the next few months, Panuku will:

k) Formalise the joint venture between the council and The Selwyn Foundation (JVCo) to manage the Housing for Older People portfolio and tenants with legal agreements being negotiated and Community Housing Provider registration being prepared. JVCo will take over the management of the Housing for Older People portfolio in July 2017.

l) The lease of the Panuku office accommodations expires in mid-2017. Options are being considered, and it is likely that it will be more cost effective for Panuku to move to a modest-quality building in the CBD rather than remaining in its current building.

m) Tawera Group is marketing residential apartments to gather pre-sales for the redevelopment of the Civic Administration Building, which is part of the Civic Quarter development. This follows on from the signing of the development agreement between Panuku and the Tawera Group.

n) Panuku is working on a refresh of the Waterfront Strategy, which will frame future development within the CBD waterfront area. This work was reported to the council in March 2017, with draft Framework Plans reported in May 2017.

o) Panuku has been reviewing how to improve the transparency of its Board meetings and interactions with the media. Panuku will hold as many of its monthly board meetings in the open as possible. A public-excluded session will be held at each meeting to discuss confidential matters. Agendas for each meeting will continue to be posted on the Panuku website (panuku.co.nz) prior to the meeting. Board papers (with confidential information redacted) will also be posted online. Members of the public will be invited (via the Panuku website) to present to the Board on issues relevant to Panuku.

p) All media enquiries will be responded to in a timely fashion and all information is shared with the media unless it is of a confidential nature. Major projects are outlined on the Panuku website and all key documents (such as the Annual Report and the project plans for Panuku development locations) are available online.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

45. This report is for the Kaipātiki Local Board’s information.

46. Panuku requests that all feedback and/or queries be directed in the first instance to localboard@developmentauckland.co.nz.

Māori impact statement

47. Tāmaki Makaurau has the highest Māori population in the world, with one in four Māori in Aotearoa living here.

48. Māori make up 12 per cent of the region’s total population who mainly live in Manurewa, Henderson-Massey, Papakura, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, Māngere-Ōtahuhu and Franklin. Māori have a youthful demographic with 50 per cent of Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau under the age of 25 years. 5 per cent of the Māori population in the region are currently 65 years and over.

49. There are 19 iwi in the region, with 14 having indicated an interest in Panuku lead activities within the Kaipātiki Local Board area.

50. Māori make up 8 per cent of the Kaipātiki Local Board population, and there are two marae located within the local board area.

51. Panuku works collaboratively with mana whenua on a range projects, including potential property disposals, development sites in the area and commercial opportunities. Engagement can be on specific individual properties and projects at an operational level with kaitiaki representatives, or with the Panuku Mana Whenua Governance Forum who have a broader mandate.

52. Panuku will continue to partner with Māori on opportunities which enhance Māori social and economic wellbeing.

Implementation

53. There are no implementation issues.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	Properties Managed in the Kaipātiki Local Board Area	75

Signatories

Authors

Sven Mol - Stakeholder Relations Coordinator - Panuku Development Auckland

Authorisers

Toni Giacon - Team Leader Stakeholder and Community Engagement

Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

Local Board Services Monthly Report - April 2017

File No.: CP2017/05684

Purpose

1. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the key activities of the Kaipātiki Local Board during March 2017, and to provide recommendations for matters requiring attention.

The updates in this report relate to the following areas:

· Community Facilities;

· Finance;

· Policy and Planning; and

· Governance.

Executive summary

2. At its Feburary 2017 business meeting, the board approved the detailed design for the carpark, entrance plaza and playspace at 136 Birkdale Road to proceed to construction (resolution number KT/2017/12). The tenders have come back substantially above available budget. To bring the project within the agreed budget and keep to delivery timeframes, the Chairperson has used her delegated authority to agree to amendments to the plans. The board may wish to allocate locally driven initiative capital funding to reinstate those items changed or removed in the amended plans.

3. The board has remaining operational locally driven initiative budget to be allocated. Local Board Services staff have been in discussions with various council departments to understand what activities could be achieved within the remaining months of the current financial year. It was anticipated that this information would be presented to the board at its April 2017 business meeting, however it is now scheduled to be presented in May 2017 to align with the local grants round.

4. The board was offered the opportunity to provide feedback on Project 17: Auckland Council Maintenance Contracts at its March 2017 business meeting. The board delegated the Chairperson to respond on behalf of the board and the submitted feedback is presented as part of this report for retrospective endorsement (refer Attachment A).

5. The board was advised via memo on 15 March 2017 about the opportunity to contribute to the Auckland Council submission on the Government’s Clean Water Package. Feedback was required to be provided prior to the board’s April business meeting and so has already been developed and submitted. The feedback is attached to this report for retrospective endorsement (refer Attachment B).

6. The April 21017 governance forward work calendar for the Kaipātiki Local Board is provided as Attachment C. The calendar aims to support the local boards' governance role by:

· ensuring advice on meeting agendas is driven by local board priorities;

· clarifying what advice is expected and when; and

· clarifying the rationale for reports.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) note that amendments have been made to the detailed design of the 136 Birkdale Road car park, entrance plaza and playspace under delegated authority on 3 April 2017.

b) endorse the board's feedback (Attachment A to the agenda report) on Project 17: Auckland Council Maintenance Contracts that the Finance and Performance Committee considered at its 30 March 2017 meeting.

c) endorse the board's feedback (Attachment B to the agenda report) on Central Government’s Clean Water Package that the Environment and Community Committee considered at its 4 April 2017 meeting.

d) note the Kaipātiki Local Board governance forward work calendar – April 2017.

Comments

7. In March 2017, the Kaipātiki Local Board held three workshops. Records of these workshops are attached to a separate report on this agenda.

8. The following regional and sub-regional briefings/meetings took place in March 2017:

· Local Board Regional/Sub Regional Workshops - 20 March and 27 March 2017;

· Local Board Chairs Forum –13 March 2017;

· Planning Committee Auckland Plan Refresh Workshop - 15 March 2017, additional Workshop 28 March 2017;

· Mana Whenua Engagement Hui – 6 March 2017;

· Auckland Council Customer Services Briefing – 13 March 2017;

· Getting to Grips with Governance Workshop – 24 March 2017;

· Conflict of Interest and CDEM Briefing – 30 March 2017;

· Governing Body Meeting – 23 March 2017; and

· Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management – 30 March 2017.

9. The board's April workshops are scheduled for 5, 12 and 26 April 2017.

Community Facilities

136 Birkdale Road development

10. At its February 2017 business meeting, the board approved the detailed design for the carpark, entrance plaza and playspace at 136 Birkdale Road to proceed to construction (resolution number KT/2017/12). At this time the board also delegated authority to the Chair to make any minor amendments to the detailed design which may arise prior to construction.

11. When the tenders for construction came back, they were substantially above available budget. Staff were able to achieve better prices through contract negotiation however there was still a shortfall. Staff recommended amendments to the plan which included alteration to surfaces and removal of furniture items.

12. As the preferred supplier indicated they were able to start in early April to do the majority of the earthworks before the wetter seasons begin, the Chairperson was requested to approve these amendments utilising the delegated authority. The proposed amendments were circulated to all board members prior to the Chairperson exercising this delegation. Approval of the amendments was provided by the Chairperson on 3 April 2017.

13. The board may wish to allocate locally driven initiative capital funding to reinstate the aspects of the plans amended to meet the available budget at the time. The following list outlines the amendment and cost to reinstate the elements as a variation to the current contract:

Item to reinstate	Cost
Artificial wet pour surface on the mound in the playspace, rather than natural grass	$37,000
Notice board: Supply and install	$5,960
Seat around the playspace: Supply and install	$2,300
Stepping logs back into the playspace: Supply and install	$11,400
TOTAL	$56,660

Finance

Locally Driven Initiatives (LDI) financial update

14. As highlighted in the Local Board Services March report, staff have been in discussions with various council departments to understand what activities could be achieved within the remaining months of the current financial year. For each activity, staff have completed a proposal form to outline project information, such as project name and description, strategic alignment, budget requirements and feasibility.

15. It was anticipated that this information would be presented to the board at its April 2017 business meeting for consideration. Due to the timing of the local grant round consideration in May however, staff decided to align the consideration of unallocated funding until May as well. This will keep the options for granting funds to applications to the local grants round as open as possible.

Policy and Planning

Project 17: Auckland Council Maintenance Contracts feedback

16. Council's Community Facilities department established Project 17 to procure and implement new maintenance contracts due to take effect 1 July 2017. This includes Full Facilities, Arboriculture and Ecological services across the Auckland Council region. The board has the opportunity to provide feedback on the project.

17. At its 15 March 2017 meeting, the board delegated the Chairperson to provide feedback on Project 17: Auckland Council Maintenance Contracts, in consultation with the other local board members (resolution number KT/2017/34). It was noted at this meeting that the final board feedback would be submitted prior to the next board meeting, and that the feedback would be presented to the board's April 2017 business meeting for retrospective endorsement (refer Attachment A).

18. The feedback from the board was included in the report to the Finance and Performance Committee for approval of the contracts on 30 March 2017.

Central Government Clean Water Package feedback

19. On 23 February 2017 central government released a consultation document on the newly proposed Clean Water Package, seeking submissions by 28 April 2017.

20. The board was advised via memo on 15 March 2017 about the opportunity to contribute to the Auckland Council submission on the government’s Clean Water Package. The feedback was required to be provided by 4 April 2017 for the Environment and Community Committee meeting. As this timing was between local board meetings, the board’s feedback has been developed and submitted and is attached to this report for retrospective endorsement (refer Attachment B).

Governance

Governance Forward Work Calendar

21. The governance forward work calendar was introduced in 2016 as part of Auckland Council’s quality advice programme. The calendar aims to support local boards’ governance role by:

· ensuring advice on meeting agendas is driven by local board priorities;

· clarifying what advice is expected and when; and

· clarifying the rationale for reports.

22. The calendar also aims to provide guidance for staff supporting local boards and greater transparency for the public.

23. The governance forward work calendar for the Kaipātiki Local Board is provided as Attachment C. The calendar will be updated monthly, reported to local board business meetings, and distributed to council staff.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

24. Local board views are sought via this report.

Māori impact statement

25. There are no specific impacts on Māori arising from this report.

Implementation

26. There are no implementation issues arising from this report.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a ⇨	Kaipātiki Local Board feedback on Project 17: Auckland Council Maintenance Contracts (Under Separate Cover)
b ⇨	Kaipātiki Local Board feedback on Central Government’s Clean Water Package (Under Separate Cover)
c ⇨	Kaipātiki Local Board governance forward work calendar April 2017 (Under Separate Cover)

Signatories

Authors	Paul Edwards - Senior Local Board Advisor - Kaipātiki
Authorisers	Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

Local Government New Zealand Conference and Annual General Meeting 2017

File No.: CP2017/06188

Purpose

1. To inform local boards about the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference in Auckland from Sunday 23 July to Tuesday 25 July 2017, and to invite local boards to nominate representatives to attend.

Executive Summary

2. The LGNZ annual conference and AGM takes place at SkyCity from 3pm on Sunday 23 July to 2:15pm on Tuesday 25 July 2017.

3. The AGM takes place on the last day of the conference. Auckland Council is entitled to four official delegates at the AGM, one of whom is the presiding (or voting) delegate. The Governing Body will consider this at its meeting on 23 March 2017. The four official delegates are likely to be the Mayor as a member of the LGNZ National Council (or his nominee), the Deputy Mayor as the Mayor’s alternate for this position, Cr Penny Hulse as the Chair of LGNZ Zone One and a member of LGNZ National Council, and the Chief Executive (or his nominee).

4. In addition to the official delegates, local board members are invited to attend. Historically, given the cost of elected member attendance at the conference, it was recommended that one member per local board attend. In 2017, due to the cost savings associated with the conference being held in Auckland, two members per local board can be funded from the elected member development programme budget.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) nominate two representatives to attend the Local Government New Zealand 2017 Conference and Annual General Meeting from Sunday 23 July to Tuesday 25 July 2017;

b) confirm that conference attendance, including travel and accommodation, will be paid for in accordance with the current Auckland Council Elected Member Expense Policy; and

c) note that any members who wish to attend the Annual General Meeting must provide their names to the Kura Kāwana project team as soon as possible to ensure they are registered with Local Government New Zealand.

Comments

5. The 2017 LGNZ Conference and AGM are being held in Auckland. The conference commences with a powhiri and opening ceremony on Sunday 23 July at 3pm and concludes with the LGNZ AGM at 11:15am on Tuesday 25 July (AGM concludes at 2:15pm).

6. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Creating pathways to 2050: Liveable spaces and loveable places’. The programme includes:

· Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy (Governor-General of New Zealand) will give the opening keynote address on how involving communities in shaping their local places can build a strong sense of local pride, identity and connection.

· Dr David Warburton (Chief Executive, Auckland Transport) and Mayor Lianne Dalziel, (Christchurch City Council) will look at the role of technology in transport and how smart technology can be integrated into council’s future plans. Learn about the practical technology trials underway to understand why New Zealand is a world leader in the implementation of Smart City technology.

· Mayor Craig Little (Wairoa District Council), Mayor John Forbes (Opotiki District Council), and Chris Whelan (Chief Executive, Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency) will discuss attracting inward investment to boost local economy. These three councils will share best practice examples of how their approach has opened the door to investment, strengthening the resilience of their local economy.

· Sir Bob Harvey (Champion for Auckland, Auckland Council) Ludo Campbell-Reid (Design Champion and General Manager, Auckland Design Office, Auckland Council) and Viv Heslop (former Sustainability Lead, Panuku Development Auckland) will discuss bringing together policy, practice and research to inform council leaders on how they can champion change to create and sustain liveable spaces and loveable places.

· A panel discussion on managing community expectations and delivering the government's objectives for freshwater water quality, which is a challenge facing all of New Zealand. Mark Sainsbury will chair this session with Stuart Crosby (Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor), Rahui Papa (Te Arataura Chairman, Waikato Tainui and a representative of the Iwi Chairs Forum) and Ken Taylor (Director, National Science Challenge, Our Land and Water).

· Holly Ransom (futurist and global strategist) will give the closing keynote address, presenting views on how and why we must adapt and be future-ready in a period of unprecedented technological, environmental, and demographic change.

Annual General Meeting

7. The AGM takes place on the last day of the conference. Auckland Council is entitled to have four delegates at the AGM, one of whom is the presiding (or voting) delegate. The four official delegates are likely to be the Mayor (or his nominee), the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Cr Penny Hulse (as Chair of Zone One) and the Chief Executive (or his nominee).

8. The Mayor is a member of the LGNZ National Council, the Deputy Mayor is the Mayor’s alternate for this position and Auckland Council’s representative on the Regional Sector Group, Cr Penny Hulse is the Chair of LGNZ Zone One and a member of LGNZ National Council. The Governing Body will consider an item on AGM attendance at its meeting on 23 March 2017.

9. LGNZ requires prior notice of which local board members plan to attend the AGM. Members wishing to attend are asked to register their intention with the Kura Kāwana project as soon as possible so this information can be collated and provided to LGNZ.

Costs

10. Historically, given the cost of elected member attendance at the conference, it was recommended that one member per local board attend. In 2017, due to the cost savings associated with the conference being held in Auckland, two members per local board can be funded from the elected member development programme budget.

11. Conference registration includes attendance at all conference business sessions (Sunday - Tuesday), a satchel and contents, daily catering, the Simpson Grierson welcome reception and the Fulton Hogan conference dinner and EXCELLENCE Awards function.

12. The council hosted tours on Sunday 23 July 2017 are not included in the conference registration. Local board members are welcome to attend these at their own cost.

Consideration

Local Board views and implications

13. This is a report to the 21 local boards.

Māori impact statement

14. The Local Government New Zealand conference will better inform local boards and thereby support their decision making for their communities, including Māori.

Implementation

15. The Kura Kāwana programme will co-ordinate and book all conference registrations, as well as requests to attend the AGM.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Authors

Helen Dodd - Local Board Strategic Advisor

Authorisers

Louise Lennane - Principal Advisor

Karen Lyons - General Manager Local Board Services

Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Kaipātiki Local Board

19 April 2017

2016 Election: Highlights and issues

File No.: CP2017/06189

Purpose

1. To provide local board input into submissions to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the 2016 local authority elections’.

Executive summary

2. This report has been presented to governing body which has agreed that the report will be presented to all local boards for their feedback on submissions to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the 2016 local authority elections’. The issues on which submissions might be based are outlined under the heading later in the report ‘Submission to Justice and Electoral Select Committee on legislative change’. Local board comments will be reported back to governing body, to decide the final form of the submission.

3. Planning for the 2016 elections commenced at the end of 2014. Staff presented a report to governing body in March 2015, which set out the areas of focus for achieving outcomes in terms of voter and candidate experiences and turnout.

4. This report:

· describes initiatives taken in the areas of focus;

· evaluates the achievement of the outcomes;

· notes other activities associated with the election, such as inaugural meetings;

· summarises the budget and forecast expenditure;

· identifies issues for council to follow up;

· proposes submissions to make to Parliament’s Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the 2016 local authority elections’; and

· outlines the timetable for the review of representation arrangements leading up to the 2019 elections.

5. The 2016 elections were successful. Particular highlights were:

· a successful marketing campaign based on the ‘showyourlove’ brand;

· innovative approaches to engaging with the community, including through social media, websites and the Love Bus;

· increased participation in Kids Voting;

· personal assistance provided to the visually impaired;

· increased turnout over 2013; and

· the elections came within budget.

6. This report is presented to local boards to provide input to a submission to the Select Committee, with the final submission presented back to governing body in May 2017. The submission needs to be lodged by December 2017.

Recommendation/s

That the Kaipātiki Local Board:

a) agree its comments be reported back to governing body for inclusion in the Auckland Council’s submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee’s ‘Inquiry into the 2016 local authority elections’.

Comments

Strategic approach

7. A report to governing body in March 2015 set out the strategic approach to the 2016 elections. It identified the following areas of focus:

· communications and community engagement;

· candidate awareness;

· on-line voting; and

· optimum use of council resources.

8. Those areas of focus were to deliver the following outcomes:

· an excellent experience for candidates and voters;

· a voter turnout of at least 40 per cent;

· a candidate-to-member ratio of three; and

· user-centric, innovative and transparent local body elections.

9. The following sections describe initiatives taken in these areas of focus and the achievement of the outcomes.

Actions taken in areas of focus

Communications and community engagement

10. Voter participation statistics showed that previous participation rates were low among 18 - 39 year olds and this age group was a key focus for the Election Planning Team.

11. Initiatives included:

· a comprehensive marketing campaign based on the “showyourlove” brand;

· advertising – billboards, adshells, bus backs, press, magazine, radio, digital, ethnic radio and newspapers;

· heart ballot boxes;

· digital bus shelter voting tallies;

· targeted social media: videos and articles via VoteAkl social media sites, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube;

· ‘Our Auckland’ council’s news channel;

· Auckland Council channels for posters, such as libraries and service centres;

· the Love Bus and community presentations;

· showyourlove.co.nz web pages for information about candidates; and

· Kids Voting programme in schools.

12. The Election Team tested the ‘showyourlove’ brand with audiences. Feedback, particularly from young people, has been very positive. Wellington City Council also developed its own brand, using our ‘love’ concept. Auckland Council and Wellington City Council experienced greater increases over 2013 turnouts than other metropolitan councils.

13. The Love Bus provided a visual reminder of the elections. It stopped at various locations where people gathered, such as at malls, and staff engaged with passers-by.

14. An engagement programme included making presentations to community groups:

· eighty events including: 22 Love Bus events, 11 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) events, 22 community presentations (total attendance at these presentations was approximately 800), three meetings or informal chats, five information stalls;

· ten of these events were run in conjunction with the Electoral Commission;

· sessions were facilitated by the deaf community, Disability Network NZ, Tongan and Samoan churches, and Korean Youth Leadership Institute, independent of council support;

· twenty-four engagement sessions included an interpreter for at least one language; interpreters for eight different languages, including New Zealand sign language, were used;

· groups reached included faith communities (Jewish, Muslim), Rainbow communities, Youth, Korean, Chinese, African, Indian, Tongan, Samoan, Sri Lankan, Somalian, Ethiopian, Rwandan, Filipino, West Indian, Burmese, Cambodian and Japanese;

· all advisory panels contributed to the elections programme;

· engagement activities and events were run in 15 of the 21 local board areas; and

· approximately 24,000 Aucklanders were reached by engagement activities.

15. The showyourlove.co.nz website provided information about candidates for voters. People often state, when asked in surveys, the reason they do not vote is they lack information about candidates. This website was planned very carefully to ensure that council did not provide any candidate with an electoral advantage. All candidates were given the same opportunity to provide information, in addition to the information in their candidate profile statements.

16. A survey conducted after the 2016 elections gauged the effectiveness of these initiatives. The sample size was 1,259 people.

17. Awareness and likelihood of voting:

· awareness of the elections rose from 83 per cent before the campaign, to 93 per cent following the campaign;

· before the election, 75 per cent intended to vote but after the election only 63 per cent (of the survey sample) actually voted;

· of the 35 per cent who did not vote, 56 per cent intended to vote but did not; and

· reasons given for not voting by the 35 per cent who did not vote include:

o don’t know anything about the candidates (25 per cent);

o don't know enough about the policies (22 per cent);

o did not know when voting finished, missed deadline (18 per cent);

o forgot to vote (18 per cent);

o can't work out who to vote for (16 per cent);

o not interested in politics or politicians (14 per cent);

o didn’t think vote would make a difference (11 per cent);

o couldn’t be bothered voting (11 per cent);

o too much effort to select the candidate (10 per cent); and

o had other commitments during that time (10 per cent).

18. Effectiveness of messaging:

· fifty-three per cent said the ads made them think of their community;

· forty-four per cent said the ads reminded them of what they love about their city; and

· forty-six per cent said the ads made them more likely to vote.

19. Twenty-one per cent used the web and social media for information about the elections; mostly the Auckland Council website.

20. Of those who intended to vote but did not vote, 25 per cent said on-line or app based voting would encourage them to vote.

21. Seventy-four per cent said they would prefer on-line voting over postal voting with 18 per cent preferring postal voting; those who preferred on-line voting were spread amongst all age groups but were mainly in the younger age groups.

22. The Kids Voting programme was an on-line voting experience for students. Students cannot legally take part in the actual election, but Kids Voting creates awareness of the elections which often flows from the participating students to their families. The Election Team prepared teaching kits that class teachers could use to explain how council works. There was a hypothetical referendum question that students voted on using the STV voting system. Fifty-six schools and 11,730 students registered to take part, compared with 44 schools and 8319 students in 2013. Forty-one schools had 4748 students who actually voted. The lessons provided to the schools by the Election Team were:

· an introduction to Auckland Council;

· an introduction to elections and voting;

· a real world on-line referendum case study;

· local boards, wards and local issues; and

· researching candidates.

Candidate awareness of election information

23. The council’s website provided information for candidates. This included:

· candidate information handbook;

· candidate audio booklet;

· FAQs;

· research material;

· how to be nominated;

· election timetable;

· video explaining Auckland Council;

· posters on all Auckland Council channels;

· ads in newspapers;

· radio; and

· digital ads.

24. The Election Team focused on on-line content over hard copy booklets. Following the experience in 2013 when 28 information evenings garnered only small attendance, the team did not hold candidate information evenings.

25. Wellington City Council publicised community-based candidate meetings on its website, which people apparently found useful. Auckland council could consider this for 2019.

On-line voting

26. Prior to the elections, the Associate Minister of Local Government announced that trials for on-line voting would not take place for the 2016 elections.

27. The community expects to have an on-line option, provided concerns about the security of on-line voting are addressed. In the post-election awareness survey, 74 per cent said they would prefer on-line voting over postal voting.

28. The Finance and Performance Committee resolved in December 2016 to request the Minister of Local Government to explore a pilot trial of an electronic voting system, including for by-elections.

Optimum use of council resources

29. Key areas of council involved in the elections were:

· Democracy Services and Communications and Engagement;

· libraries and service centres held election information, received nominations and issued special votes;

· communications staff undertook advertising, branding, web content, and social media with assistance from the design studio;

· bylaws compliance staff enforced the Auckland Transport Elections Signs Bylaw;

· Legal Services provided legal advice when required; and

· Research and Evaluation (RIMU) staff provided advice on demographic data and undertook research for the report on the order of names.

30. Elections planning staff worked closely with the Electoral Commission, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM).

31. Council’s election services provider (Independent Election Services Ltd) was based in the central business area, in Anzac Avenue, and was the main central city office. Staff later provided limited services at the Bledisloe Service Centre in response to demand.

Achievement of outcomes

32. The desired outcomes were:

· an excellent experience for candidates and voters;

· a voter turnout of at least 40 per cent;

· a candidate-to-member ratio of three; and

· user-centric, innovative and transparent local body elections.

Candidate experience

33. For the first time, council conducted an on-line survey of candidates. One-hundred and fifty candidates took part. This feedback shows a positive candidate experience.

34. Key findings were:

· seventy-six per cent said it was easy, or very easy, to find information;

· eighty-eight per cent said that overall they could access the information they needed;

· eighty-seven per cent said they used resources on the Auckland Council website;

· eighty-three per cent were aware of the ‘Love your Auckland – stand for council’ campaign;

· eighty per cent contributed to their information on the showyourlove.co.nz website; and

· fifty per cent said this was their first time standing for elected office with Auckland Council and 50 per cent said it was not their first time.

35. The Election Team has noted some candidate issues for following up or improvement:

· a couple of candidates were nominated for positions for which they did not intend to stand. In one case, a number of candidates on one ticket arrived at a service centre together, creating increased demand on staff at the last minute. In future, the Election Team will co-ordinate with ticket campaign managers to help manage the processing of nominations and will provide additional briefings to staff helping at service centres. Legislative change to allow electronic submission of nominations to improve these processes will be sought;

· there was a question whether a Samoan matai title could be used on the nomination form. The legislation prohibits ‘titles’ but does not define ‘title’. The Electoral Officer, after receiving legal and cultural advice, allowed matai ‘titles’ on the basis they were used more like names than titles. It would be helpful to have legislative guidance on this; and

· some candidates expressed concern about the requirement to state in the profile statement whether they lived in the area for which they were standing. Council previously submitted in opposition to this requirement.

Voter experience

36. The awareness survey showed that voters used on-line tools to find out about voting and about candidates.

37. Issues which negatively affected the experience of voters (some outside the control of council):

· a small number of voters in one area did not receive voting documents. The Electoral Officer received about 90 applications for special votes from voters in that area;

· voters outside the area during the voting period either could not vote or had to apply for a special vote. An example was, a voter who was overseas and who had arranged for a special vote to be posted to them but who could not meet the deadline for posting it back from overseas. An ability to supply the voting documents electronically would assist; and

· an issue which continues to affect the voter experience is the mixture of different voting systems on the one voting document, and different orders of candidate names.

38. Ten staff volunteered to assist blind people with their voting. This was arranged in partnership with the Blind Foundation and the volunteers were trained and made declarations as electoral officials. The volunteers visited voters at their residences and helped them mark their voting documents. The Auckland Branch of Blind Citizens NZ wrote an appreciative letter to the mayor and chief executive.

Voter turnout

39. The council aimed for a 40 per cent turnout. The turnout was 38.5 per cent, an increase of 3.7 per cent over the 2013 turnout.

40. Across all of New Zealand, there was a slight increase over 2013:

2010

2013

2016

Change

National voter turnout %

49.0

41.3

42.0

+0.7

41. Across metropolitan councils, Auckland and Wellington achieved the two highest increases:

Voter turnout % - Metro	2010	2013	2016	Change %
Auckland	51.0	34.9	38.5	+3.7
Christchurch City	52.2	42.9	38.3	-4.6
Dunedin City	53.0	43.1	45.2	+2.1
Hamilton City	37.8	38.3	33.6	-4.7
Hutt City Council	40.4	36.6	37.8	+1.2
Nelson City	52.2	52.2	52.1	-0.1
Palmerston North City	43.2	38.7	39.1	0.4
Porirua City	39.1	36.6	38.0	+1.5
Tauranga City	43.8	37.8	38.0	+0.2
Upper Hutt City	44.3	40.8	41.0	+0.2
Wellington City	40.0	41.5	45.6	+4.1
Total	45.0	38.0	39.3	+1.3

Candidate to member ratio

42. The target was three candidates per position.

43. There were 19 candidates for mayor. In 10 out of 13 electoral ward issues for councillors, the ratio of candidates to positions was three-to-one or greater.

44. There were 32 local board electoral issues (there are 21 local boards but elections in some local board areas are on a subdivision basis). In nine, the ratio of candidates to positions was three-to-one or greater. For a local board that is not divided into subdivisions, it is harder to achieve the ratio because the number of positions is greater.

45. Overall, there were 468 candidates for 170 positions, which is a ratio of 2.8 to one.

User-centric, innovative and transparent local body elections

46. The key ‘users’ in an election are the candidates and the voters. Feedback shows:

· candidates got the information they needed; and

· compared to previous elections voters could find out more about candidates, through the “showyourlove” website.

47. Assistance was provided to voters who were blind. Blind Citizens NZ communicated its appreciation back to council.

48. The report details above a number of innovative activities such as the Love Bus and Heart Ballot Boxes.

49. Aspirations to have on-line voting were not met. There is a need to provide a user-friendly option for voters who do not use postal services. Voters who are not in the area during the voting period also have issues. If a voter is overseas, by the time voting documents have been posted to them (if they have a reliable postal address) there is insufficient time to post them back. The ability to download blank forms and to scan and email completed forms should be investigated.

50. For candidates, there is only the one option of paper-based nomination forms. Submitting nominations electronically needs to be investigated.

51. The communications and community awareness programmes were innovative and received positive feedback, as noted above under ‘Communications and Community Engagement’.

52. Ensuring candidates and voters had sufficient information assisted the transparency of the elections.

Other activities relating to the elections

53. The Executive Leadership Team adopted a staff policy around political neutrality and involvement in the election process outside work hours. Governing body adopted an elected members’ policy dealing with issues such as the use of council resources by incumbent members. The policy required close management of council communications during the sensitive period and a panel met weekly to monitor this.

54. Council staff enforce the Auckland Transport Election Sign Bylaw and dealt with 162 complaints. Earlier in the year, there was media coverage about the use of commercial billboards. This will be addressed in a review of the Auckland Transport bylaw.

55. Following each election there are a number of activities arranged for elected members:

· induction sessions for members;

· refreshing the technology provided to members;

· powhiri for all members; and

· inaugural meetings of governing body and local boards at which members make their statutory declarations.

Cost of the election

56. Summary of budget and expenditure:

Budget	Planned	Actual (at 31/01/17)	Forecast	Comments
Election Services - IES	$4,893,000	$4,515,500	$4,653,490	Amount payable to IES as per contract plus a 10 per cent buffer for variable costs to be determined at wash-up in Feb ’17, Whilst costs are currently forecast to arrive over contract amount, these are expected to be within budget (including buffer).
Communications and engagement (internal charge)	$1,221,000	$1,160,960	$1,221,498	Expected to meet budget once final costs are confirmed.
Staff	$620,000	$659,637	$669,637	Slight over-spend in staff due to increased programme scope and staff turnover.
Kids Voting	$50,000	$49,424	$49,424	Steering group approved exceeding budget for increased number of participating schools and students. This includes $30,000 for IES for on‑line voting capability.
Community engagement	$40,000	$27,441	$27,441	Initial elections budget had no allocation for community engagement hence in 2016, $40,000 was reallocated from other items. Under-spend here due to final budget being confirmed after a lower cost engagement schedule was already planned. $10,000 for translations and accessibility was covered by community engagement budget.
Governing body inaugural meeting	$57,000	$49,661	$52,697	Initial budget had allocated $81,000 for post-election costs, of which specifics were not known to elections team. This was reduced to cover inaugural meeting only and then further to fund community engagement. In 2013, Inaugural meeting cost was $57,000.
Local board inaugural meetings	$129,300	$97,921	$129,300	The budgets for travel and equipment hireage were not fully utilised.
Research	$20,000	$6,404	$8,700	This amount was reduced from $30,000 to fund community engagement.
Pre-election IES, DDB and Buzz	$0	$48,980	$48,980	Unplanned costs for development of elections strategy were funded by Democracy Services in 2015.
Miscellaneous	$0	$9,244	$9,244	Includes judicial recount, costs associated with services at libraries and service centres, other programme-wide costs, and office expenses.
Recoveries - DHBs and LTs	-$1,500,000	-$622,500	-$1,517,964	Full recoverable amount will be determined at wash-up in February 2017. Current estimates expect to meet planned amount.
Total	$5,530,300	$6,002,672	$5,352,447	Overall budget under-spend expected once wash-up is confirmed in February 2017.

57. The costs of the Howick by-election ($104,000) will be absorbed in the budget if possible.

Issues to progress further

Howick by-election

58. A member of the Howick Local Board resigned at the inaugural meeting of the board. Council held a by-election at a cost of $104,000, which the Finance and Performance Committee has approved as unbudgeted expenditure. The committee considered council should have the option of appointing to a vacancy that occurs within six months of an election, and that council should have the option of conducting a by-election on-line. The committee resolved:

“That the Finance and Performance Committee:

…

c) agree that the Mayor will write to the Minister of Local Government requesting, among other amendments to the Local Electoral Act 2001 necessary to improve the conduct of local elections, an amendment to section 117 to allow a local authority using the first past the post electoral system to determine by resolution whether to fill an extraordinary vacancy which occurs up to six months after the previous triennial local government election either by appointing the highest polling unsuccessful candidate from the previous triennial local government election, or by holding a by-election.

d) request the Minister of Local Government to explore a pilot-trial of an electronic voting system including by-elections.”

(Resolution number FIN/2016/1)

59. Both of these issues are discussed further in this report.

On-line voting

60. Survey results show the community prefers on-line voting. Government previously established a working party which made recommendations for a staged approach with trials in 2016. Government supported this and set out the requirements to be met for a council to establish a trial. Auckland Council was considered to be too large for a trial and was not eligible. In April 2016, the Associate Minister of Local Government announced the trial would not proceed as requirements had not been met.

61. Government wants local government to lead on-line voting, subject to its requirements being met. LGNZ should co-ordinate the local government sector’s development of on-line voting and Mayor Goff and Councillor Hulse will be pursuing this with the Local Government New Zealand National Council.

Voter participation

62. In order to prepare for the 2019 elections, a voter participation project has been established. The main aims of the project are to reduce barriers to participation, encourage diversity and increase awareness and understanding of council and local elections.

63. The planning team for the 2016 elections has now completed its task and has been disbanded, however a position of Senior Advisor, Voter Participation, has been established within Democracy Services to provide continuity between the work that was carried out for the 2016 elections and the engagement that needs to occur for the 2019 elections.

Research on order of names

64. An analysis of the 2010 and 2013 election results was undertaken so that council could decide whether the order of names on voting documents should be alphabetical or random. Further research will be undertaken and provided to council when it next makes a decision on the order of names.

Review of Auckland Transport Election Signs Bylaw

65. Auckland Transport has undertaken to review the bylaw. The review will take place in time for implementation for the 2017 parliamentary election.

Submission to Justice and Electoral Select Committee on legislative change

66. The Justice and Electoral Select Committee conduct an enquiry following each election. Submissions on the inquiry into the 2016 elections will close in December 2017.

67. This report seeks input from local boards for the submission, particularly on the following issues. A proposed submission will be reported to governing body later in 2017:

Matai names

· the Local Electoral Act 2001 prohibits the use of official titles when listing candidate names on the voting document. Names that can be used include a registered name or a name by which the candidate has been commonly known for the six months prior to an election. Although sometimes referred to as ‘matai titles’, legal advice provided to staff is that these are more in the nature of names than of a title denoting the holding of some sort of office. To avoid doubt, the legislation should give guidance;

Vacancies occurring within six months of an election

· since the 2016 elections were held, three vacancies have occurred – Auckland (resignation of local board member), Bay of Plenty Regional Council (death) and Waikato Regional Council (death). When considering the budget for the Howick by‑election, governing body resolved to seek a law change allowing a local authority using the first-past-the-post electoral system, to appoint the highest polling unsuccessful candidate to a vacancy occurring within six months of an election;

Legal requirement for candidate to state whether residing in area

· some candidates complained about this requirement. Council has previously submitted in opposition to it and may consider doing so again. Following the 2013 elections, the select committee recommended that the requirement be removed and noted that candidates for parliamentary elections did not have to make a similar statement. However, it has not yet been removed;

Timing of school holidays

· the school holidays overlap with the postal voting period. Many people go out of the area during school holidays and do not vote. Currently local government elections are on the second Saturday in October. Moving election day to the first Saturday in October would provide one week before election day that would not overlap with school holidays. This still gives time to adopt the annual report, and it provides an additional week between the elections and the end of the year for the new council to attend to business, such as a draft annual plan;

Electronic transmission of voting documents to and from voters overseas

· voters who are overseas during the postal voting period often do not have enough time to post back voting documents prior to election day, after receiving their voting documents in the post. The select committee has previously recommended electronic transmission. Government has supported sending blank voting documents electronically but has opposed the return of completed votes electronically. On-line voting would also solve this issue;

Electoral Officer (EO) to have access to the supplementary roll

· the processing of special votes relies on the Electoral Commission checking that voters are on the electoral roll. If the EO had access to the supplementary roll, the EO could do this, with the potential to speed up the counting of special votes. This has previously been supported by the select committee and the government;

Access to data associated with electoral roll

· it is a concern that local government election turnouts are low. Having access to statistical data associated with the electoral roll, such as age groups of electors, would be helpful when planning election awareness campaigns. Currently the Electoral Act only allows this information to be supplied for research into scientific or health matters;

Electronic nominations and candidate profile statements.

· the option to submit nominations electronically would benefit the candidate experience and it would lead to more accurate representation of candidate profile statements. Currently there are over 600 profile statements to be typed from copy supplied by candidates, and then proof-read. Occasionally this leads to mistakes;

Legislative confirmation that local authorities may promote elections

· legislation should give a clear mandate to local authorities to promote elections. This is to avoid any uncertainty about public funds being used for election promotion purposes;

Time period for printing electoral rolls

· electoral rolls were not printed in time for the start of candidate nominations because the legislated time period is too short. Extending the time period for printing would correct a previous change to timeframes, which shortened the time for printing the rolls;

Electronic access to electoral rolls for election staff

· when processing candidate nominations, staff at service centres need to check whether nominators are on the electoral roll for the specified area. They may only have one hard-copy version to share between staff processing nominations for different candidates. It would be more efficient to access the current roll electronically;

Close of voting time

· extend voting later into the last day and create one full 'voting day'. The Electoral Officer received 18,000 votes on the Saturday morning via our ballot boxes. Extra time on the final Saturday would give voters more time to vote and could help turn the final Saturday into a voting day celebration;

Discourage inappropriate use of elections

· there were 19 candidates for Mayor. Clearly some of these had no chance of being elected but presumably used the opportunity to promote their cause. Consideration could be given as to whether this is an issue that needs to be addressed;

Separation of District Health Board (DHB) elections.

· a variety of election issues on the one voting document, together with different voting systems and ordering of names, confuses voters. It would be better to hold DHB elections at a separate time, for example a separate year, or alongside the parliamentary elections. However, this would increase the cost of an election to Auckland Council, which currently receives $1.5 million in recoveries from DHBs and Licensing Trusts;

Candidate information in different languages

· candidate profile statements are limited to 150 words. If a candidate profile statement is provided in English and Māori, then each version may have 150 words, as Māori is an official language. If a candidate profile statement includes English and a language other than Māori, it is limited to 150 words in total. Consideration could be given to other options for candidates to provide information in languages relevant to their constituents;

Consistency between Electoral Regulations and Local Electoral Regulations

· the Electoral Regulations include provisions that would be helpful to local elections, such as:

o telephone dictation for voters with disabilities; and

o receipt of special votes electronically.

Relationship with Electoral Commission

· some voters, confused about who was responsible for running council elections, contacted the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission typically referred callers to council and enquirers ended up calling the council call centre, only to be referred on to Independent Election Services. There should be consideration to jointly promote awareness about who enquirers should contact with queries about local elections.This does not require a legislative change but could be implemented through LGNZ.

Timetable for 2019 elections

Electoral system

68. If council wishes to change the electoral system from first-past-the-post to single transferable vote, a resolution is required by 12 September 2017. Such a resolution might then be subject to a petition for a poll. Alternatively, council could conduct a poll.

Māori wards

69. If council wishes to establish Māori wards, a resolution is required by 23 November 2017. Such a resolution might then be subject to a petition for a poll. Alternatively, council could conduct a poll.

Review of representation arrangements

70. Council is required to review:

· whether the election of councillors is on a ward basis or at large and, for each local board, whether election of board members is on a subdivision basis or at large;

· the number of members in each local board within a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve;

· if there are wards or subdivisions, what the boundaries are, and how many members there are in each; and

· the names of wards, subdivisions, and local boards.

71. Unlike other councils, Auckland Council cannot review the number of members of governing body because the legislation sets this at 20 members.

72. The statutory timetable for the review is:

Due dates	Requirement
No earlier than 1 March 2018	A council resolution setting out council’s initial proposal
Within 14 days of resolution but no later than 8 September 2018	Public notice of the resolution, providing at least one month for submissions
Within six weeks of close of submissions	The initial proposal may be amended after considering submissions. Public notice of the final proposal.
20 December 2018	Appeals from those who submitted on the initial proposal and fresh objections to any amendments are received.
15 January 2019	Appeals and objections are forwarded to the Local Government Commission.
11 April 2019	Appeals and objections are determined by the Local Government Commission, which may conduct hearings in order to do this.

73. The review will be conducted as one component of the wider governance framework review reported to governing body last December. Governing body established a political working party comprising seven governing body members and seven local board members.

Consideration

Local board views and implications

74. The report is being presented to all local boards for their views, before being presented back to governing body to finalise a submission to the select committee.

Māori impact statement

75. Initiatives that encourage the community to engage with elections will have a positive impact on Māori. There are activities associated with elections that are particularly significant to mana whenua, such as the pōwhiri to welcome all elected members following the elections.

76. The survey of candidates asked candidates to identify their ethnicities. Ten per cent of candidates were Māori, compared to nine per cent of the total Auckland population. As a result of the election, seven per cent of elected members are Māori (115 of 170 elected members replied to the survey).

77. There will be an opportunity to consider the establishment of Māori wards for the 2019 elections.

Implementation

78. This report will be presented to local boards for their comments, to be included in a report back to governing body so that governing body can finalise its submission to the select committee.

Attachments

There are no attachments for this report.

Signatories

Authors

Warwick McNaughton - Principal Advisor - Democracy Services

Authorisers

Marguerite Delbet - General Manager Democracy Services

Phil Wilson - Governance Director

Stephen Town - Chief Executive

Eric Perry - Relationship Manager

Chairperson	Danielle Grant
Deputy Chairperson	John Gillon
Members	Paula Gillon
	Ann Hartley, JP
	Kay McIntyre, QSM
	Anne-Elise Smithson
	Adrian Tyler
	Lindsay Waugh

No.	Title	Page
a ⇩	Kaipātiki Local Board workshop record - Wednesday 8 March 2017	109
b ⇩	Kaipātiki Local Board workshop record - Wednesday 15 March 2017	111
c ⇩	Kaipātiki Local Board workshop record - Wednesday 22 March 2017	113

Authors	Blair Doherty - Kaipātiki Local Board Democracy Advisor
Authorisers