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Resolution number WTM/2017/163
MOVED
by Deputy Chairperson S Chambers, seconded by Member R Northey:
That the Waitematā
Local Board:
a) support
the following draft positions and recommendations of the Political Working
Party, and provides other feedback as follows:
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 a jointly
agreed 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, noting that some timeframes such as parliamentary
and 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. Requests
sufficient capacity for development of policy that is a priority for multiple
local boards.
iv. Note that
the Quality Advice programme is continuing to be implemented in order to
improve the quality of advice provided to elected members for
decision-making, 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. 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)
vii. Note
that an explicit call-in right is not possible under the Local Government
(Auckland Council) Act.
viii. 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).
Allocations and delegations
x. 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)
xi. 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
xii. Note that the working party did not reach consensus on this issue,
and will consider the feedback of local boards before making a recommendation
xiii. 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
xiv. 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.
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. Requests that Auckland transport seek
local board endorsement for projects where there are place-making outcomes
before proceeding to delivery.
xvii. Requests that Auckland Transport provide
local boards with the opportunity to influence the prioritisation of projects
in the local work programme prior to its finalisation.
xviii. Requests 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.
xix. 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.
xx. Note that the
CCO Governance Manual requires Auckland Transport to include in its
engagement plan how it will give local boards an opportunity to influence or
to respond to the following:
-
Decisions
affecting a local board’s governance role;
-
Decisions having a
significant local impact (including mitigation measures);
-
Decisions
requiring a CCO to undertake community consultation (local or regional).
xxi. Direct Auckland
Transport to meet all requirements for local board engagement
as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive CCOs.
xxii. 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.
xxiii. 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).
xxiv. 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.’
xxv. 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
xxvi. 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 planting policies, 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
xxvii. Direct Auckland Transport
to report to the governing body annually on how
it is meeting the directions given under recommendation xx.
xxviii. 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.
xxix. 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.
xxx. 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.
xxxi. Direct Auckland
Transport to implement a more systematic work programme
approach to assist local boards to identify potential projects
and make decisions.
xxxii. Direct Auckland Transport
to actively engage with governing body members
(ward councillors) on transport projects and issues within their
ward areas.
Waiheke Local Board pilot
xxxiii. Agree that the governing body
should endorse the Waiheke Local Board
pilot project as set out in the Waiheke Local Board pilot project plan.
xxxiv. Note that the Waiheke Local Board
will maintain oversight of local implementation
of the pilot.
xxxv. Request that the evaluation of
the pilot is reported back to all local boards
Local boards funding and finance
xxxvi. Agree that the enhanced status quo model
be moved to immediately, noting
that further work can be progressed within this framework in parallel
rather than waiting before implementing the
enhanced status quo.
xxxvii. Rename the enhanced status quo to be
called “local decision-making within
a funding envelope.”
xxxix. 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
xxxx. 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.
xxxxi. 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
xxxxii. Agree that at this time there is no overwhelming need to change the current
number of local boards.
xxxxiii. 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 outcome of the re-organisation proposals of North
Rodney and Waiheke are known.
Methods of electing governing
body members
xxxxiv. 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
xxxxv. Note that
the statutory review of representation arrangements for Auckland
Council must be completed by September 2018.
xxxxvi. 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.
xxxxvii. 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.
xxxxviii. Support the following naming conventions for elected members of the Auckland
Council as:
Councillor for Governing Body members and Local
Councillor for Local Board members.
b) Supports
the status quo that decision-making on reserve exchanges remains with the
governing body in line with decision-making for acquisition and disposal of
non-reserve property.
c) Supports
the continuation of a joint local board/governing
body political working party focusing on matters of governance impacting on
both governance arms.
d)
Delegates to Chair Pippa Coom, Deputy chair Shale Chambers and member Richard
Northey to consider any additional information and Political Working Party
positions that arise before the Governing Body makes the final decision in
September and subject to consultation with other board members revise the
board’s agreed positions as appropriate.
CARRIED
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