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Resolution
number MT/2017/141
MOVED by Chairperson J Bartley, seconded by
Deputy Chairperson D Allan:
That the
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board:
a) provide
feedback on the following 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:
1) a
process for involving local boards in the development of jointly agreed
regional work programmes at the beginning of each term and in an annual
refresh;
2) earlier
and more joint engagement between local boards and the governing body in
regional decision-making processes;
3) 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;
4) specified
criteria for categorising the potential local impact and local board interest
of regional decisions;
5) 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):
6) specified
methods for engagement and communication with local boards at all stages of
the decision-making process, noting that some timeframes eg central
government submissions are outside council’s control and the methods
may not be able to be implemented in all cases;
ii) direct
that local boards will be consulted on the details of these mechanisms prior
to implementation;
iii) request
sufficient capacity for development of policy that is a priority for multiple
local boards;
iv) note
that the quality advice programme is continuing, in line with the
recommendations of the Governance Framework Review;
v) 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;
vi) express
its views that the provision of contestable advice should be based on
enabling the local board to receive objective and independent advice in
addition to what is provided within the council’s capacity;
vii) 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)
viii) note
that council’s legal advice is that it cannot implement a
‘call-in’ right and 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;
ix) 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);
x) express
its expectation that where a local board is to make a decision that affects
local activities in any other local board area, the decision-making local
board shall consult with any affected local board;
Allocations and delegations
xi) agree
that the Governing body delegates, subject to the necessary statutory tests
being met, the following Reserves Act decision-making functions for local
reserves to local boards:
1) declaration;
2) classification;
3) reclassification;
4) application
for revocation of reserve status (limited to when there is a desire by a
local board to manage open space under the LGA);
xii) note
that budgets need to follow decision-making, so the change from regional to
local decision-making will require a reallocation from regional to local
budgets;
xiii) request
that the Governing body delegates the decision on exchanges of reserve land
to local boards;
xiv) 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
xv) 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;
xvi) note
that the Governance Manual for Substantive CCOs requires Auckland Transport,
amongst other things, to:
1) 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’;
2) 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’;
3) report
against their local board engagement plan in their quarterly performance
reports to the CCO Governance and Monitoring Committee;
xvii) direct
Auckland Transport to meet all requirements for local board engagement as set
out in the Governance Manual for Substantive CCOs;
xviii) direct
Auckland Council officers to monitor Auckland Transport 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;
xix) note
that the mayor’s 2017 letter of expectation to Auckland Transport
stipulated that council expects there to be:
1) better
and earlier engagement and communication between Auckland Transport and local
boards;
2) 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);
xx) 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.’
xxi) note
that the Governance Framework Review has investigated the potential
delegation of a range of Auckland Transport powers and found that delegation
of decision-making generally does not perform well against key criteria;
xxii) direct
Auckland Transport, in working with local boards, to:
1) 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;
2) improve
co-ordination between local place-shaping projects, such as town centre
upgrades, and its renewals programmes;
3) provide
more opportunities for local board direction on the prioritisation of minor
traffic safety projects, with the exception of those which AT considers are
of critical safety importance;
4) 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);
5) take
direction from local boards on how and where to implement community-focused
programmes;
xxiii) direct
Auckland Transport to report to the governing body annually on how it is
meeting the directions given under (xxii);
xxiv) 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;
xxv) 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 increased;
xxvi) direct
officers to report to the relevant governing body committee, through the Long
Term Plan process, on options for increasing the Local Board Transport
Capital Fund and the method of allocation of the fund;
xxvii) direct
Auckland Transport to implement a more systematic work programme approach to
assist local boards to identify potential projects and make decisions;
xxviii) note
the role of local boards in place-making and that Auckland Transport should
be guided by and responsive to local boards acting in this role to enable them
to give effect to this role;
xxix) request
that Auckland transport seek local board endorsement for projects where there
are place-making outcomes before proceeding to delivery;
xxx) request
that Auckland Transport provide local boards with the opportunity to
influence the prioritisation of projects in the local work programme prior to
its finalisation;
xxxi) request
Auckland Transport formally provide local boards with a local work programme
for each financial year (prior to the commencement of the year) with regular
formal updates on any changes to the programme;
Waiheke Local Board pilot
xxxii) agree
that the governing body should endorse the Waiheke Local Board pilot project
as set out in the Waiheke Local Board pilot project plan;
xxxiii) note
that the Waiheke Local Board will maintain oversight of local implementation
of the pilot;
xxxiv) evaluation
of the pilot is reported back to local boards;
Local boards funding and finance
xxxv) indicate
initial support for the Local decision making model within parameters as the
preferred approach given it will enable greater local self-determination,
accountability and financial benefit to our community;
xxxvi) 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, addressing any disadvantage to local
boards with high deprivation.
xxxvii) rename
the enhanced status quo to be called “local decision-making within a
funding envelope”;
xxxviii) provide
additional decision-making to local boards by enabling them to increase or
decrease service levels within and across ABS activities, provided that the
impact is cost neutral, i.e. within the funding envelope;
Representation issues
xxxix) agree
that there is no need to change the current number of local boards as at this
time as there is no overwhelming need to change;
xl) agree
that any decision to review the numbers of local boards should not occur
until after the Governance Framework Review is completed and implemented and
the outcomes of the re-organisation proposals for North Rodney and Waiheke
are known;
xli) agree
that the election process for the number of governing body members and wards
should remain unchanged as there is no identified need to change or undertake
an in-depth review on the election of governing body members;
xlii) support
Auckland Council advocating to central government for legislative amendments
that would allow for future changes to the number of governing body members
in line with population change and to simplify the process for changes to the
numbers and boundaries of local boards and the creation of Maori wards in
Auckland;
xliii) support
retention of the current electoral voting system of First Past the Post;
xliv) agree
to support the naming conventions for elected members of the Auckland Council
as:
1) Regional Councillor
and Local Councillor;
Panuku
xlv) note
the critical interface between the local place shaping role of local boards
and the transformation programmes of Panuku delegated by Governing Body;
xlvi) direct
Panuku in acknowledgement of the local board as local governors of the local
community to take direction from local boards when undertaking place-shaping
activities and that both work closely together to deliver community
aspirations as identified in the local board plan.
CARRIED
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