Governing Body
OPEN MINUTES
|
Minutes of a meeting of the Governing Body held in the Reception Lounge, Auckland Town Hall, 301-305 Queen Street, Auckland on Thursday, 28 September 2017 at 9.06am.
Mayor |
Hon Phil Goff, CNZM, JP |
|
Deputy Mayor |
Bill Cashmore |
|
Councillors |
Cr Dr Cathy Casey |
|
|
Cr Ross Clow |
|
|
Cr Fa’anana Efeso Collins |
|
|
Cr Chris Darby |
|
|
Cr Alf Filipaina |
|
|
Cr Hon Christine Fletcher, QSO |
|
|
Cr Richard Hills |
|
|
Cr Penny Hulse |
From 9.11am, Item 6.1 |
|
Cr Mike Lee |
From 9.35am, Item 6.2 |
|
Cr Dick Quax |
Until 2.59pm, Item 10 |
|
Cr Greg Sayers |
From 9.20am, Item 6.2 |
|
Cr Desley Simpson, JP |
|
|
Cr Sharon Stewart, QSM |
|
|
Cr Sir John Walker, KNZM, CBE |
From 1.58pm, Item 8 |
|
Cr John Watson |
|
ABSENT
|
Cr Linda Cooper |
|
|
Cr Denise Lee |
|
|
Cr Daniel Newman |
|
|
Cr Wayne Walker |
|
ALSO PRESENT
|
Shale Chambers |
Deputy Chair, Waitematā Local Board |
|
Cath Handley |
Deputy Chair, Waiheke Local Board |
|
John Meeuwsen |
Waiheke Local Board Member |
|
Paul Walden |
Waiheke Local Board Member |
|
Phelan Pirrie |
Deputy Chair, Rodney Local Board |
IN ATTENDANCE
|
Greg Schollum |
Deputy Auditor-General |
|
Jo Smaill |
Audit Director, Audit New Zealand |
Governing Body 28 September 2017 |
|
1 Affirmation
His Worship the Mayor read the affirmation.
2 Apologies
Resolution number GB/2017/103 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Deputy Mayor B Cashmore: That the Governing Body: a) accept the apologies from Cr L Cooper, Cr D Lee, Cr D Newman and Cr W Walker for absence, and Cr C Fletcher and Cr D Quax for early departure. |
3 Declaration of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
4 Confirmation of Minutes
Resolution number GB/2017/104 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr D Simpson: That the Governing Body: a) confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Thursday, 24 August 2017, including the confidential section, as a true and correct record. |
5 Petitions
There were no petitions.
6 Public Input
6.1 |
|
|
John Meeuwsen was in attendance to speak to the Governing Body. A document was provided. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment. Cr P Hulse entered the meeting at 9.11 am. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/105 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr J Watson: That the Governing Body: a) receive and note the public input presentation from John Meeuwsen, regarding the Governance Framework Review and thank him for his attendance.
|
|
a 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item 6.1: Public Input - John Meeuwsen, Waiheke and some other rural council comparators |
6.2 |
Public Input: John Faire and a concerned group of Auckland Primary and Secondary Principals - the current Auckland education staffing crisis |
|
John Faire, Byron Bentley, Liz Horgan and Malcolm Milner were in attendance to speak to the Governing Body. A document was provided. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment. Cr G Sayers entered the meeting at 9.20 am. Cr M Lee entered the meeting at 9.35 am. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/106 MOVED by Cr C Fletcher, seconded by Cr P Hulse: That the Governing Body: a) receive and note the public input presentation from John Faire and a concerned group of Auckland Primary and Secondary Principals, regarding the current Auckland education staffing crisis and thank them for their attendance.
|
|
a 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item 6.2: Public Input - John Faire, Concerned Auckland Principals Group, Submission |
6.3 |
|
|
Lisa Prager was in attendance to speak to the Governing Body. Cr C Darby left the meeting at 9.40 am. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/107 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: a) receive and note the public input presentation from Lisa Prager, regarding the Waitematā Safe Route Cycleways and thank her for her attendance.
|
6.4 |
Public Input: Charles Joseph - Waitematā Safe Route Cycleways |
|
Charles Joseph was in attendance to speak to the Governing Body. A document was provided. A copy has been placed on the official minutes and is available on the Auckland Council website as a minutes attachment. Cr C Darby returned to the meeting at 9.47 am. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/108 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: a) receive and note the public input presentation from Charles Joseph, regarding the Waitematā Safe Route Cycleways and thank him for his attendance.
|
|
|
|
a 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item 6.4: Public Input, Charles Joseph - Waitemata Safe Route Cycleways, Submission |
Note: From this point forward, agenda items were taken in the following order:
Item 17 Procedural motion to exclude the public
Confidential Items C1 and C2
Item 13 Potential need to conduct by-elections
Item 14 Budget to conduct by-elections
Item 8 Extraordinary Business
Item 9 Notices of Motion
Item 7.1 Local Board Input: Waiheke Local Board – Governance Framework Review
Item 7.2 Local Board Input: Rodney Local Board – Governance Framework Review
Item 10 Governance Framework Review: Recommendations of the Political Working Party
Item 11 2019 elections – opportunity to establish a Māori ward
Item 12 Process to conduct a review of representation arrangements
Item 15 Summary of Governing Body information memos and briefings – 28 September 2017
Item 16 Consideration of Extraordinary Items
Resolution number GB/2017/109 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr A Filipaina: That the Governing Body: a) exclude the public from the following part(s) of the proceedings of this meeting. b) agree that Greg Schollum, Deputy Controller and Auditor-General, Jo Smaill, Audit Director, Audit New Zealand, be permitted to remain for Confidential Item C1: Office of the Auditor-General briefing and Item C2: Adoption of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group after the public has been excluded, because of their knowledge of matters, which will help the Governing Body in its decision-making. The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution follows. This resolution is made in reliance on section 48(1)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the particular interest or interests protected by section 6 or section 7 of that Act which would be prejudiced by the holding of the whole or relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting in public, as follows: C1 Office of the Auditor-General briefing
C2 Adoption of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group
The text of these resolutions is made available to the public who are present at the meeting and form part of the minutes of the meeting. |
9.55am The public was excluded.
Resolutions in relation to the confidential items are recorded in the confidential section of these minutes and are not publicly available.
10.22am The public was re-admitted.
Potential need to conduct by-elections |
|
|
Resolution number GB/2017/113 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr E Collins: That the Governing Body: a) note the potential for by-elections having to be held as a result of the 2017 general election on 23 September 2017 b) note a separate report will be provided to the Governing Body specifying what additional operating budget will be needed to conduct the by-election(s) once the results of the general election are known.
|
Budget to conduct by-elections |
|
|
Note: Changes were incorporated in clause a) with the agreement of the meeting.
|
|
Resolution number GB/2017/114 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr D Simpson: That the Governing Body: a) approve an additional operating budget of $228,000 in the 2017/2018 financial year to conduct two by-elections subject to resignation and final vote count. b) note that this unbudgeted expenditure will be included in the next budget update report to the Finance and Performance Committee. |
The meeting was adjourned at 10.27am.
The meeting reconvened at 1.58pm. Cr J Watson was not present.
Cr J Walker entered the meeting at 1.58pm
8 Extraordinary Business
There was no extraordinary business.
9 Notices of Motion
There were no notices of motion.
7 Local Board Input
Local Board Input: Waiheke Local Board - Governance Framework Review |
|
|
Waiheke Local Board Chair Paul Walden, Deputy Chair Cath Handley and Member John Meeuwsen were in attendance to address the meeting regarding the Governance Framework Review. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/115 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr C Fletcher: That the Governing Body: a) thank Waiheke Local Board Chair Paul Walden, Deputy Chair Cath Handley and Member John Meeuwsen for their input in relation to the Governance Framework Review and for their attendance. |
Local Board Input: Rodney Local Board - Governance Framework Review |
|
|
Cr J Watson returned to the meeting at 2.10 pm. Rodney Local Board Deputy Chair, Phelan Pirrie was in attendance to address the meeting regarding the Governance Framework Review. |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/116 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr G Sayers: That the Governing Body: a) thank Rodney Local Board Deputy Chair, Phelan Pirrie for his input in relation to the Governance Framework Review and for his attendance. |
10 |
Governance Framework Review: Recommendations of the Political Working Party |
|||
|
The Governance Framework Review Political Working Party Chair, Cr Bill Cashmore and Deputy Chair, Shale Chambers addressed the meeting regarding the Governance Framework Review. |
|||
|
The motion was taken in parts. |
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/117 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: a) endorse the work of the political working party in considering the recommendations of the Governance Framework Review. b) thank the members of the political working party for their work. Part 1: Policy issues Regional policy and decision-making processes c) approve the implementation of new mechanisms that ensure effective local board input to regional policy decisions, via a framework that sets out, at a minimum: i) a process for involving local boards in the development of regional work programmes at the beginning of each term and in an annual refresh ii) earlier, and more, joint engagement between local boards and the governing body in regional decision-making processes iii) 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 iv) specified criteria for categorising the potential local impact and local board interest of regional decisions v) processes and methods for tailoring local board engagement so it is consistent with the local impact and local interest of regional decisions vi) specified methods for engagement and communication with local boards at all stages of the decision-making process. d) approve local boards being consulted on the details of these mechanisms prior to implementation. e) endorse organisational capacity to enable local boards to be provided with policy advice on issues of local significance being considered through the organisational support workstream of the Governance Framework Review. Local decisions that may have regional impacts (development of a ‘call-in’ right) f) approve the requirement for the provision of formal regional impact advice to local boards, whenever a local board is to make a decision that has potential impacts beyond the immediate local board area. Allocations and delegations g) approve the delegation of the following Reserves Act 1977 decision-making functions relating to local reserves from the governing body to local boards: i) the decision to declare a reserve under section 14(1) ii) the decision to classify a reserve under section 16(1), which has been delegated by the Minister of Conservation to Auckland Council iii) the decision to classify a reserve under section 16(2A) iv) the decision to reclassify a reserve under section 24(1) v) the decision to propose to the Minister of Conservation that the status of a council-owned reserve should be revoked under section 24(1), but only where the reason for the request to revoke is because the local board wishes to manage the land under the Local Government Act 2002. h) approve the Minister of Conservation’s delegated supervisory powers remaining sub-delegated to staff. i) agree that, in line with officer advice and the majority of the political working party, the governing body retains decision-making over proposed reserve exchanges under section 15(1) Reserves Act 1977. The role of Auckland Transport and local boards in place-shaping j) endorse local boards’ critical role in local place-shaping and Auckland Transport’s need to be guided by, and responsive to, local boards to enable them to give effect to this role. k) direct Auckland Transport to meet all requirements for local board engagement as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive council-controlled organisations. l) request that Auckland Council staff monitor Auckland Transport’s compliance with the requirements for local board engagement, as set out in the Governance Manual for Substantive council-controlled organisations, and to report back to the governing body at least annually. m) direct Auckland Transport, in working with local boards, to: i) 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 ii) improve co-ordination between local place-shaping projects, such as town centre upgrades, and its renewals programmes iii) 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 iv) 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 v) take direction from local boards on how and where to implement community-focused programmes vi) provide a local work programme for each local board as soon as practicable each financial year. n) direct Auckland Transport to report to the governing body annually on how it is meeting the directions given under recommendation (m). o) request that the review of accountability mechanisms for substantive council-controlled organisations, when considering direction under section 92(2) of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, should include consideration of whether to direct substantive council-controlled organisations to act consistently with local board plans. p) request that officers report to the relevant governing body committee, through the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan process, on options for significantly increasing the Local Transport Capital Fund and the method of allocation of the fund. q) direct Auckland Transport to implement a more systematic work programme approach with respect to the Local Transport Capital Fund to assist local boards to identify potential projects and make decisions. r) direct Auckland Transport to actively engage with governing body members (ward councillors) on transport projects and issues within their ward areas. s) direct Auckland Transport to provide a formal response on the directives contained within these approved responses to the Governance Framework Review within three months. Waiheke Local Board pilot t) approve the Waiheke Local Board pilot project as set out in the Waiheke Local Board pilot project plan in Attachment E. u) approve the Waiheke Local Board maintaining oversight of local implementation of the pilot and that regular updates of the pilot will be reported to all local boards. Note: Pursuant to Standing Order 1.8.6, Cr C Casey requested that her dissenting vote against clause i), be recorded. |
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/118 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: Part 2: funding and finance Service property optimisation v) approve the current ‘optimisation of service assets’ policy being strengthened by delegating the final decisions on local asset disposal and reinvestment to local boards, providing all policy criteria have been met. w) request that appropriate support be provided to local boards to enable them to utilise the policy. Renewals funding x) approve renewals funding continuing to be managed at the regional level, but with local boards being given flexibility to reallocate their renewals programme across all local asset categories noting that: i) the process of review and reallocation will be annual, and timed to ensure that the delivery programme is as efficient and effective as possible ii) management of the individual projects within the programme will continue to be delegated to staff iii) management of the overall budget (including overs and unders) will be at a regional level iv) there will be a short term cost associated with this option of approximately $850,000 per annum for between 12 and 18 months to improve data quality, and that the detailed approval of this be referred to the next Finance and Performance Committee for approval, as part of the monthly budget update v) there may be a need to amend local board delegations to staff to reflect the additional flexibility to move funding between local activity classes. Operational funding and service levels y) approve, in principle, that local boards will be given more flexibility of decision-making over operational funding and service levels and, that before final decisions on the degree of that flexibility are made, further work (including a more detailed timeframe) be reported back to the governing body on: i) existing service levels ii) options for equalising service levels between local boards iii) options for minimum service levels and to which activities these may apply iv) the impacts on organisational support. z) approve the additional work on service levels and organisational support, noting that it will take approximately 12 months and incur additional costs of $200,000 in the 2018/2019 year (to be considered as part of the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan process). Local rates consideration aa) approve local activities continuing to be funded through a general rate, and that further work on local rates funding of local activities for which local boards have decision-making responsibility be completed to: i) review possible mitigation options to address any significant increases or decreases in rates at the local board level that might arise from a local rates model, in light of the 2017 revaluations ii) initiate further discussions with local boards explaining the opportunities and impacts of the local rates model. bb) note that while a model of local rates for local activities, applied generally, is not supported or recommended by the majority of local boards or the political working party, four local boards requested that they participate in a pilot of the local rates model of decision-making. cc) request that officers report back to the governing body with further advice on the merits and implications of running an optional pilot for local rates through the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan process. |
|||
|
Cr D Quax left the meeting at 2.59 pm. |
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/119 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: Part 3: governance and representation The optimum number of local boards dd) approve the political working party’s recommendation that no further work be undertaken 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. Note: Pursuant to Standing Order 1.8.6, Cr C Fletcher requested that her dissenting vote be recorded. |
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/120 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: Methods of electing governing body members ee) endorse the continuation of the current system of electing governing body members from wards Note: Pursuant to Standing Order 1.8.6, Cr C Fletcher requested that her dissenting vote be recorded. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/121 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: ff) approve council continuing to advocate to central government for legislative amendments that would allow changes to the number of governing body members, and simplification of the process for changes to numbers and boundaries of local boards. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/122 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: gg) agree that the term ‘councillor’ is used to refer solely to members of the Auckland Council’s Governing Body, and that members of local boards are referred to as ‘local board members’. A division was called for, voting on which was as follows:
The motion was declared carried by 12 votes to 3. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/123 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: hh) require these conventions to be used consistently in Auckland Council communications and publications. Future political working party ii) approve the establishment of a new political working party to consider ongoing joint governing body/local board governance issues. jj) request that officers report back to the Governing Body before the end of 2017 with recommendations on the terms of reference before the end of this year. kk) note that the process to form the political working party is addressed in the paper on the Process to Consider a Review of Representation Arrangements reported separately on this agenda. |
11 |
||||
|
Cr C Fletcher left the meeting at 3.41 pm. |
|||
|
MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr D Simpson: That the Governing Body: a) receive the report and take no further action. |
|||
|
|
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/124 MOVED by Cr A Filipaina, seconded by Cr E Collins: an amendment by way of replacement: That the Governing Body: a) receive the report and reiterate to government the position adopted by Council in 2015 supporting the need for legislative change to allow Auckland to determine the number of members on the Governing Body and subject to that, agree in principle to establish a Māori ward and request for a consistent policy regarding Māori representation in line with legislation governing the composition of Parliament. A division was called for, voting on which was as follows:
The motion was declared carried by 10 votes to 5. |
|||
|
Note: Cr D Simpson withdrew as seconder of the original motion.
|
|||
|
The substantive motion was put. |
|||
|
Resolution number GB/2017/125 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr A Filipaina: That the Governing Body: a) receive the report and reiterate to government the position adopted by Council in 2015 supporting the need for legislative change to allow Auckland to determine the number of members on the Governing Body and subject to that, agree in principle to establish a Māori ward and request for a consistent policy regarding Māori representation in line with legislation governing the composition of Parliament |
12 |
|
|
Resolution number GB/2017/126 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr R Clow: That the Governing Body: a) note that the statutory review of representation arrangements requires an initial proposal be developed, which is publicly notified for submissions b) note that the Governance Framework Review political working party has recommended that a new political working party, comprised of governing body and local board members, be formed to deal with governance issues, which could include the representation review c) endorse the staff recommendation that the new governance political working party, develop the initial proposal and present it to local boards and the Governing Body for comments before the Governing Body makes the statutory resolution to release the Auckland Council’s initial proposal for consultation d) endorse the staff recommendation that the new governance political working party hear public submissions on the proposal, then report its findings to local boards and the Governing Body before the Governing Body makes the final statutory resolution on any representation changes, which will then be publicly notified for objections and appeals e) endorse the staff recommendation that the Mayor call for expressions of interest from all elected members to be on the new governance political working party and then appoint an equal number of governing body and local board members to the political working party f) agree that this report, together with the Governing Body’s resolutions, be presented to local boards for their comments, and that local board comments be reported back to the Governing Body for a final decision on the process for conducting the statutory review of representation arrangements in December 2017. |
15 |
Summary of Governing Body information memos and briefings - 28 September 2017 |
|
Resolution number GB/2017/127 MOVED by Cr D Simpson, seconded by Cr A Filipaina: That the Governing Body: a) receive the Summary of Governing Body information memos and briefings – 28 September 2017. |
16 Consideration of Extraordinary Items
There was no consideration of extraordinary items.
restatementS
It was resolved while the public was excluded:
C1 |
|
|
|
|
Resolution number GB/2017/111 MOVED by Mayor P Goff, seconded by Cr D Simpson: That the Governing Body: a) note the information provided by the Deputy Auditor-General, Greg Schollum. b) thank the Deputy Auditor-General, Greg Schollum, for his attendance. Restatement: c) agree that the information provided by the Deputy Auditor-General will remain confidential until the release of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report on 29 September 2017 to the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the public; d) agree that the decisions will be restated in the open minutes. |
|
a 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item C1: Independent Auditor's report summary Auckland Council's Annual Report 2016-2017 b 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item C1: Independent Auditor's report Auckland Council's Annual Report 2016-2017 |
C2 |
Adoption of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group |
|
|
|
Resolution number GB/2017/112 MOVED by Cr R Clow, seconded by Cr D Simpson: That the Governing Body: a) adopt the 2016/2017 Annual Report for Auckland Council Group. b) adopt the 2016/2017 Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group. Restatement: c) agree that the adopted 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report provided as Attachments C - F will remain confidential and the information will be published immediately following the release of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report on 29 September 2017 to the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the public; and d) agree that the decisions will be restated in the open minutes. |
|
|
|
Note: The Annual Report was subsequently released on Friday 29 September 2017 and is available on the Auckland Council website at the following link: |
|
a 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item C2: Adoption of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group, Decisin from the Audit and Risk Committee meeting held on 14 September 2017 b 28 September 2017, Governing Body - Item C2: Adoption of the 2016/2017 Annual Report and Summary Annual Report for Auckland Council Group, decision from Finance and Performance Committee meeting held on 21 September 2017 |
4.36 pm The Chairperson thanked Members for their attendance and attention to business and declared the meeting closed.
CONFIRMED AS A TRUE AND CORRECT RECORD AT A MEETING OF THE Governing Body HELD ON
DATE:.........................................................................
CHAIRPERSON:........................................................