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Resolution
number OP/2017/139
MOVED by Member R Autagavaia, seconded by Member
A Choudhary:
That the
Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board:
a) Provide the following feedback on the 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. Request 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. Request the Governing Body 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. Request 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. 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
xi. 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.
xii. 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.
xiii. Direct Auckland Transport to meet all requirements for
local board engagement as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive
CCOs.
xiv. 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.
xv. 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).
xvi. 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.’
xvii. 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
xviii. Request
Governing Body to 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
xix. Request
the Governing Body to direct Auckland Transport
to report to the governing body annually on how it is meeting the directions
given under recommendation xviii.
xx. 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.
xxi. 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.
xxii. 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.
xxiii. Direct Auckland Transport to implement a more
systematic work programme approach to assist local boards to identify
potential projects and make decisions.
xxiv. Direct Auckland Transport to actively engage with
governing body members (ward councillors) on transport projects and issues
within their ward areas.
Methods of
electing governing body members
xxv. 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
xxvi. Note that the statutory review of representation
arrangements for Auckland Council must be completed by September 2018.
xxvii. 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.
xxviii. 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.
Waiheke
Local Board pilot
b)
Agree
that the governing body endorse the Waiheke Local Board pilot project as set
out in the Waiheke Local Board pilot project plan.
c)
Request
that the same delegations and resourcing be extended to all local boards as
soon as possible and not at the end of the 3 year pilot.
Local
boards funding and finance
d)
Support
an enhanced status quo which is funded by the general rate and provides local
boards some additional flexibility for moving funding within an activity
Optimum number of local boards
e)
Agree
that there is no need to change the number of local boards because the number
is justified by the populations and projected growth of current local board
areas, especially by comparison to other council districts in New Zealand.
Other
feedback
f)
Agree
that decision-making for acquisitions, disposals and exchanges of reserve
land should remain with the governing body, with the relevant local board
consulted on these decisions.
g)
Support
"Regional Councillor" and "Local Councillor" naming
conventions for elected members of the Auckland Council.
h) Support
the continuation of a joint local board/governing body political working
party focusing on matters of governance impacting on both governance arms.
CARRIED
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