TERMS OF REFERENCE
Responsibilities
The purpose of the Committee is to:
(a) control and review
expenditure across the Auckland Council Group to improve value for money
(b) monitor the overall
financial management and performance of the council parent organisation and
Auckland Council Group
(c) make financial decisions
required outside of the annual budgeting processes
Key responsibilities include:
·
Advising and
supporting the mayor on the development of the Long Term Plan (LTP) and Annual
Plan (AP) for consideration by the Governing Body including:
o
Local Board
agreements
o
Financial policy
related to the LTP and AP
o
Setting of rates
o
Preparation of the
consultation documentation and supporting information, and the consultation
process, for the LTP and AP
·
Monitoring the
operational and capital expenditure of the council parent organisation and
Auckland Council Group, and inquiring into any material discrepancies from
planned expenditure
·
Monitoring the
financial and non-financial performance targets, key performance indicators, and other
measures of the council
parent organisation and each Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) to
inform the Committee’s judgement about the performance of each
organisation
·
Advising the mayor
on the content of the annual Letters of Expectations (LoE) to CCOs
·
Exercising
relevant powers under Schedule 8 of the Local Government Act 2002, which relate
to the Statements of Intent of CCOs
·
Exercising
Auckland Council’s powers as a shareholder or given under a trust deed,
including but not limited to modification of constitutions and/or trust deeds,
granting shareholder approval of major transactions where required, exempting
CCOs, and approving policies relating to CCO and CO governance
·
Approving the
financial policy of the Council parent organisation
·
Overseeing and
making decisions relating to an ongoing programme of service delivery reviews,
as required under section17A of the Local Government Act 2002
·
Establishing and
managing a structured approach to the approval of non-budgeted expenditure
(including grants, loans or guarantees) that reinforces value for money and an
expectation of tight expenditure control
·
Write-offs
·
Acquisition and
disposal of property, in accordance with the long term plan
·
Recommending the
Annual Report to the Governing Body
·
Te Toa Takatini
Powers
(a) All powers necessary to
perform the committee’s responsibilities, including:
a. approval of a
submission to an external body
b. establishment of
working parties or steering groups.
(b) The committee has the powers
to perform the responsibilities of another committee, where it is necessary to
make a decision prior to the next meeting of that other committee.
(c) The committee does not have:
a. the power to
establish subcommittees
b. powers that the
Governing Body cannot delegate or has retained to itself (section 2).
Exclusion of the public – who
needs to leave the meeting
Members of the public
All members of the public must leave the
meeting when the public are excluded unless a resolution is passed permitting a
person to remain because their knowledge will assist the meeting.
Those who are not members of the public
General principles
·
Access to confidential information is managed on a “need to
know” basis where access to the information is required in order for a
person to perform their role.
·
Those who are not members of the meeting (see list below) must
leave unless it is necessary for them to remain and hear the debate in order to
perform their role.
·
Those who need to be present for one confidential item can remain
only for that item and must leave the room for any other confidential items.
·
In any case of doubt, the ruling of the chairperson is final.
Members of the meeting
·
The members of the meeting remain (all Governing Body members if
the meeting is a Governing Body meeting; all members of the committee if the
meeting is a committee meeting).
·
However, standing orders require that a councillor who has a
pecuniary conflict of interest leave the room.
·
All councillors have the right to attend any meeting of a
committee and councillors who are not members of a committee may remain,
subject to any limitations in standing orders.
Independent Māori Statutory Board
·
Members of the Independent Māori
Statutory Board who are appointed members of the committee remain.
·
Independent Māori Statutory Board
members and staff remain if this is necessary in order for them to perform
their role.
Staff
·
All staff supporting the meeting (administrative, senior
management) remain.
·
Other staff who need to because of their role may remain.
Local Board members
·
Local Board members who need to hear the matter being discussed
in order to perform their role may remain. This will usually be if the
matter affects, or is relevant to, a particular Local Board area.
Council Controlled Organisations
·
Representatives of a Council Controlled Organisation can remain
only if required to for discussion of a matter relevant to the Council
Controlled Organisation.
Apologies from
Cr C Casey and Cr D Quax have been received.
2 Declaration
of Interest
Members are
reminded of the need to be vigilant to stand aside from decision making when a
conflict arises between their role as a member and any private or other
external interest they might have.
3 Confirmation
of Minutes
|
That the Finance and Performance Committee:
a)
confirm the ordinary minutes of its meeting, held on Friday, 24 November 2017, as a true and correct record.
|
4 Petitions
At the close of
the agenda no requests to present petitions had been received.
5 Public Input
Standing Order
7.7 provides for Public Input. Applications to speak must be made to the
Governance Advisor, in writing, no later than one (1) clear working day
prior to the meeting and must include the subject matter. The meeting
Chairperson has the discretion to decline any application that does not meet
the requirements of Standing Orders. A maximum of thirty (30) minutes
is allocated to the period for public input with five (5) minutes
speaking time for each speaker.
At the close of
the agenda no requests for public input had been received.
6 Local Board Input
Standing Order
6.2 provides for Local Board Input. The Chairperson (or nominee of that
Chairperson) is entitled to speak for up to five (5) minutes during this
time. The Chairperson of the Local Board (or nominee of that Chairperson)
shall wherever practical, give one (1) day’s notice of their wish
to speak. The meeting Chairperson has the discretion to decline any
application that does not meet the requirements of Standing Orders.
This right is
in addition to the right under Standing Order 6.1 to speak to matters on the
agenda.
At the close of
the agenda no requests for local board input had been received.
7 Extraordinary Business
Section 46A(7)
of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended)
states:
“An item
that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at that meeting if-
(a) The local
authority by resolution so decides; and
(b) The presiding member
explains at the meeting, at a time when it is open to the public,-
(i) The
reason why the item is not on the agenda; and
(ii) The reason why the
discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a subsequent meeting.”
Section 46A(7A)
of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (as amended)
states:
“Where an
item is not on the agenda for a meeting,-
(a) That item may be discussed
at that meeting if-
(i) That item is a minor
matter relating to the general business of the local authority; and
(ii) the presiding member
explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time when it is open to the
public, that the item will be discussed at the meeting; but
(b) no resolution, decision or
recommendation may be made in respect of that item except to refer that item to
a subsequent meeting of the local authority for further discussion.”
8 Notices of Motion
There were no
notices of motion.
