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Resolution number HM/2017/139
MOVED
by Deputy Chairperson P Chan, seconded by Member V Neeson:
That the
Henderson-Massey Local Board:
a) Approve
draft positions and recommendations of the Political Working Party:
Regional policy
and decision-making
i. Agree that council should implement new mechanisms that
ensure effective local board input to regional policy decisions, via a
framework that sets out, at a minimum:
· A process for involving local boards
in the development of regional work programmes at the beginning of each term and
in an annual refresh;
· Earlier and more joint engagement
between local boards and the governing body in regional decision-making
processes
· Requirements for analysis of local
impacts and local interest of regional decisions and options, and reporting
of this to local boards and the governing body
· Specified criteria for categorising
the potential local impact and local board interest of regional decisions
· Processes and methods for tailoring
local board engagement in line with the local impact and local interest of
regional decisions e.g. high categorisation requiring more specific local
engagement and analysis, low categorisation requiring more cluster joint
local board workshop sessions and less in depth analysis.
· Specified methods for engagement and
communication with local boards at all stages of the decision-making process.
ii. Direct that local boards will be consulted on the
details of these mechanisms prior to implementation.
iii. Note that the Quality Advice programme is continuing to
be implemented in order to improve the quality of advice to elected members
for decision-making, in line with the recommendations of the Governance
Framework Review.
iv. Agree not to implement any formal policies or
procedures that control when and how local boards may procure external or
contestable advice, but note that, in principle, the Auckland Council
organisation should be the first provider of advice to local boards.
v. Agree not to implement any policy or procedure that
would limit local boards’ ability to advocate to the governing body on
regional issues.
Local decisions
that may have regional impacts (development of a ‘call-in’ right)
vi. Note that an explicit call-in right is not possible
under the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act
vii. Agree not to implement any mechanism that would have
the effect of ‘calling in’ or allocating decision-making to the
governing body for otherwise local activities or decisions that have regional
implications.
viii. Direct officers that, whenever a local board is to make
a decision that has potential impacts beyond the immediate local board area
e.g. a sub-regional impact or an impact on regional networks, advice on those
potential impacts is to be provided to the local board as a matter of course
(for example through a regional impact statement).
Allocations and
delegations
ix. Agree that the governing body delegates, subject to the
necessary statutory tests being met, the following Reserves Act 1977
decision-making functions for local reserves to local boards:
· declaration
· classification
· reclassification
· application for revocation of reserve
status (limited to when there is a desire by a local board to manage open
space under the LGA)
x. Note that officers’ advice on decision-making for
exchanges of reserve land was that it should remain with the governing body,
with the relevant local board consulted on these decisions
xi. Note that the working party did not reach consensus on
this issue, and will consider the feedback of local boards before making a
recommendation
xii. Agree that the Minister of Conservation’s
supervisory powers remain delegated to staff, but where there is likely to be
significant public interest, an independent commissioner should be engaged.
The role of
Auckland Transport and local boards
xiii. Note the critical interface between the local
place-shaping role of local boards and Auckland Transport’s
jurisdiction over the road corridor and transport networks.
xiv. Note that the Governance Manual for Substantive CCOs
requires Auckland Transport, amongst other things, to:
· develop, with local boards, a shared
understanding of local board views and CCO priorities to inform the following
year’s business planning, including through an annual interactive
workshop ‘where local boards communicate their local board priorities
and the CCOs communicate how their current year work programme will
contribute to local board priorities’.
· develop by 31 July each year an annual
local board engagement plan, which includes a schedule ‘clearly indicat[ing]
for each board, the projects and/or activities that it expects to report on,
and the projects and activities that it expects to consult on, for the
following year. This should be updated annually or more frequently if
required.’
· report against their local board engagement plan in their
quarterly performance reports to the CCO Governance and Monitoring Committee.
xv. Direct Auckland Transport to meet all requirements for
local board engagement as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive
CCOs.
xvi. Direct Auckland Council officers to monitor Auckland
Transport’s compliance with the requirements for local board
engagement, as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive CCOs, and to
report this monitoring to the governing body at least annually.
xvii. Note that the Mayor’s 2017 letter of expectation
to Auckland Transport stipulated that council expects there to be:
· better and earlier engagement and
communication between Auckland Transport and local boards;
· active consideration by Auckland
Transport of which of its decision-making powers it could delegate to local
boards (within the constraints created by the regulatory environment, safety
considerations, the needs of regional networks and the role played by NZTA in
decision-making).
xviii. Note that the following activity statement has been
included in Auckland Transport’s 2017-2020 Statement of Intent:
‘Participation in the governance
review which is aimed at changing behaviours and processes across relevant
Council family activities, including Auckland Transport, to enable local
boards to give effect to their governance role, particularly around local
place-shaping.’
xix. Note that the Governance Framework Review has
investigated the potential delegation of a range of Auckland Transport powers
and the working party recommends that additional work be undertaken to
identify delegation opportunities
xx. Direct Auckland Transport, in working with local
boards, to:
· Ensure that local boards have a strong
governance role in determining the ‘look and feel’ of town
centres and streetscapes, in line with their allocation of non-regulatory
decision-making
· Improve co-ordination between local
place-shaping projects, such as town centre upgrades, and its renewals
programmes
· Provide more opportunities for local
board direction on the prioritisation of minor traffic safety projects, with
the exception of those which Auckland Transport considers are of critical
safety importance
· Be more responsive to local
place-shaping initiatives in non-transport parts of the road corridor,
including reducing or removing barriers to community place-making initiatives
e.g. looking at ways to reduce the costs of developing traffic management
plans for community events
· Take direction from local boards on
how and where to implement community-focused programmes
xxi. Direct Auckland Transport to report to the governing
body annually on how it is meeting the directions given under recommendation
xx.
xxii. Note that the Quality Advice programme has been working
with Auckland Transport to improve the quality of advice to local boards and
will shortly begin regular six monthly surveys of local board members’
satisfaction with Auckland Transport advice, engagement and reporting to
local boards.
xxiii. Note that the Local Board Transport Capital Fund is
valued by local boards but that the level of funding means that some boards
are not able to progress meaningful projects, and that improved local
transport outcomes may be achieved if the size of the fund was significantly
increased.
xxiv. Direct officers to report to the relevant governing
body committee, through the Long Term Plan process, on options for
significantly increasing the Local Board Transport Capital Fund and the
method of allocation of the fund.
xxv. Direct Auckland Transport to implement a more
systematic work programme approach to assist local boards to identify
potential projects and make decisions.
xxvi. Direct Auckland Transport to actively engage with
governing body members (ward councillors) on transport projects and issues
within their ward areas, with their comments feedback and advocacy on local
activities being directed back to the relevant local board.
Waiheke Local
Board pilot
xxvii. Agree that the governing body should endorse the Waiheke
Local Board pilot project as set out in the Waiheke Local Board pilot project
plan.
xxviii. Note that the Waiheke Local Board will maintain
oversight of local implementation of the pilot.
Local boards
funding and finance
xxix. Agree that the enhanced status quo model be moved to immediately,
noting that further work can be progressed within this framework rather than
waiting for further work before implementing the enhanced status quo.
·
Re-name the enhanced status quo to be
called, “local decision-making within a funding envelope.”
·
Provide additional decision-making to local
boards by enabling them to increase or decrease service levels within and
across asset based services activities provided that the impact is cost
neutral, i.e. within the funding envelope.
xxx. Agree that
the additional work to support the Enhanced status quo model be undertaken
– framework for service levels and local flexibility, options for
addressing historical uneven funding, improving the information and advice
that is provided to local boards.
xxxi. Agree that
further work on the implications of the local decision making model also be
undertaken for further consideration - modelling of rates implication
following the revaluation, costs to the organisation of supporting more local
decision making etc.
The optimum
number of local boards
xxxii. Agree that council should undertake no further work on
changing the number of local boards until at least after the governance
framework review has been completed and implemented, and the outcomes of
reorganisation proposals that are underway for North Rodney and Waiheke
Island are known.
Methods of
electing governing body members
xxxiii. Agree that
a change to the current system of electing governing body members from
existing wards is not warranted purely to address alignment between governing
body members and local boards
xxxiv. Note that the statutory review of representation
arrangements for Auckland Council must be completed by September 2018.
xxxv. Note that the Local Government Act Amendment Bill No.
2, which proposes a simplified process for local government-led
reorganisation processes, is currently before Parliament.
xxxvi. Agree that council should continue to advocate to
central government for legislative amendments that would allow changes to the
number of governing body members in line with population changes, and
simplification of the process for changes to numbers and boundaries of local
boards.
b) support officers’ advice on decision-making for
exchanges of reserve land was that it should remain with the governing body,
with the relevant local board consulted on these decisions
c) request
that local board members be referred to as local board councillors. This
change in terminology is anticipated to assist members of the community
identifying that local board elected members are part of council.
d) Propose that consideration with regard to continuation of a joint
local board/governing body political working party focusing on matters of
governance impacting on both governance arms be made at the conclusion of the
process noting discussion and points to be considered are still progressing.
CARRIED
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