|
Resolution number WH/2017/95
MOVED
by Deputy Chairperson S Zhu, seconded by Member D Whitley:
That the Whau Local
Board:
a) Approves
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 funding allocations 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.
e) request the Governance Framework Review to investigate
mechanisms that support the operations and governance roles of the Manukau
Harbour Forum.
CARRIED
|
