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Ōtara-Papatoetoe
Local Board
16 June 2020
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Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board
Business Associations
File No.: CP2020/07874
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To amend the 2019/2020 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Work
Programme Line #123 and confirm direction on the allocated funding for this
item.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. The
Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board allocated $240,000 in their 2019/2020 Work
Programme (OP/2019/83), to support three local business associations to
contribute to clean, safe and attractive town centres (Line #123). These local
business associations are the Ōtara Business Association, Hunters Corner
Town Centre and the
Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated.
3. On
11 February 2020, the local board received verbal presentations from these
organisations on outcomes they achieved so far in 2019/2020 and on ideas for
future initiatives and plans for 2020/2021.
4. The
presentation by the Ōtara Business
Association and the Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated
highlighted the need for both organisations to improve their operational and
governance functions. There was also unsatisfactory accountability reporting
for funding received in 2018/2019.
5. Based
on this, staff originally proposed funding of:
· $80,000 to Hunters
Corner Town Centre (full funding)
· $25,000 to Ōtara Business Association
· $25,000 to
Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society
6. The
funding for both Ōtara Business
Association and the Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated ($50,000
total) are proposed to be carry-forward to the next financial year, and used to
fund a town centre post COVID-19 economic recovery plan in collaboration with
council staff, the business associations, and local businesses.
7. Staff
recommend the unspent funding ($110,000) would be returned to savings.
8. Due
to council budget restrictions following COVID-19 this carry forward will be
subject to the carry forward and expenditure guidelines.
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Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Ōtara-Papatoetoe
Local Board:
a) amend the 2019/2020 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board Work Programme
Line #123 to no longer allocate funding to the Ōtara Business
Association and the Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated.
b) approve
$50,000 to engage a third party to co-design a post-COVID-19 economic
development recovery plan in collaboration with council staff, the business
associations, and local businesses and request these funds to be carried
forward.
c) approve
the remaining $110,000 to be returned to savings in financial year 2019/2020.
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Horopaki
Context
9. In June 2019, the local board resolved to support town centre
development and initiatives as part of the 2019/2020 Arts, Culture and Events
work programme, line #123, with a budget of $240,000.
10. The
specified business association partners for this work programme are:
· Ōtara Business Association Incorporated
· Hunters Corner Town Centre Society Incorporated
· Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society
Incorporated.
11. On 11 February 2020, the local board received verbal
presentations from the Ōtara Business Association, Hunters Corner Town Centre and the Papatoetoe
Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated on outcomes
they achieved in 2019/2020 and future initiatives and plans for the 2020/2021
financial year.
12. The
presentations by the Ōtara Business Association and the Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society
Incorporated highlighted the need for both organisations to improve their
operational and governance functions and there was low alignment with
the Business Improvement Development (BID) policy at
the time of the presentations.
13. A
funding agreement for $80,000 was completed for the Hunters Corner Town Centre
as all BID criteria was met and there were robust operational, management and
governance systems evident.
14. A
report to the local board on 19 May 2020 confirmed that both Ōtara Business Association and
Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet business association were now compliant with BID
policy, however there were ongoing concerns about their operations and
governance, and with their inability to provide accountability reports in
2018/2019.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
15. Staff
considered the following criteria when assessing the funding contributions:
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Criteria for
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a) Compliance
with Auckland BID Policy 2016
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The business
association must be fully compliant with the Auckland Business Improvement
District (BID) Policy 2016. This includes meeting all the requirements of the
BID Policy in terms of operational management and governance and the
requirements of the Incorporated Societies Act. This is an encompassing
policy that outlines matters such as Annual General Meeting, membership and
reporting requirements.
The Auckland Council BID
Team is responsible for ensuring individual associations are fully compliant
with the BID Policy. Compliance with the BID Policy is an indicator of how
the business association is functioning.
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b) Accountability
for previous funding
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The business
association must provide full accountability reporting for any previous
council funding received. It must be clear how the funds were applied and the
outcomes/impact of the funded initiatives.
Accountability
reporting includes financial reporting, recognising the impact of the
activity, and reflecting on opportunities for enhancement for future
initiatives.
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c)
Quality of proposal
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Proposed
initiatives should:
· be clear about intended initiatives and
outcomes
· align to local board plan outcomes and
community aspirations
· reflect the definition of ‘safety’
agreed by the Local Board in April 2019 i.e. safety is about building
strong, cohesive, vibrant and participatory communities. Safety initiatives
can include community events, activations and placemaking activities that
welcome locals and visitors; and
· be future-focused and relevant to the town
centre needs and development potential.
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b) Community
feedback
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Consideration of any other context,
information or feedback from the local community, including business
association members. Local Boards partner with business associations on
placemaking and other community initiatives only when they are well connected
to the local community and contributing positively to community outcomes.
This may be information that local board or staff members are aware of, or
feedback from those interacting with the association. Care is taken to use
professional judgement in the importance, or impact, of the knowledge in
decision-making.
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16. Following
presentations from all three business associations in February 2020, and
subsequent workshops, staff made the following analysis:
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Business Association
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Compliance with Auckland BID Policy 2016
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Accountability for previous funding
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Quality of proposal
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Community feedback
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Hunters Corner Town Centre Society
Incorporated
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ü
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ü
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ü
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ü
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Ōtara Business Association Incorporated
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ü
Initial Concerns resolved
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û
Unclear for 2018/2019
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û
Proposal requires more alignment to local
board outcomes
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û
Requires better engagement in the community
and currently has limited evidence of community support and participation
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Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society Incorporated
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ü
Initial Concerns resolved
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û
Unclear for 2018/2019
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û
Proposal against local board outcomes needs
strengthening
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û
Requires better engagement with its members
and has limited evidence of community support and participation
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17. Papatoetoe Central Mainstreet Society (PCMS) and Ōtara Business Association Incorporated (OBA) have the
same town centre manager.
18. PCMS presented to the local board and included their
car promotion and efforts to connect with all business association members.
19. The
OBA presentation focused on safety in the town centre with CCTV, using
ambassadors, and security patrols. Events supported in 2018/2019 included
Matariki, White Sunday, Christmas in the Carpark and a senior citizens
Christmas party.
20. Several comments were noted about these two organisations:
· That OBA
had significant financial reserves.
· The 2019
accounts revealed a large percentage of funds was spent on salaries.
· OBA
received revenue from the BID targeted rate in 2018/2019 and grant funding from
a variety of sources.
· Accountability
reporting needed to improve.
· Funding
for the annual Diversity Festival was of concern.
· As of
February 2020, the Ōtara Business
Association Incorporated had been struck off the Incorporated Societies
register as the appropriate financial reporting was not submitted.
· OBA have
re-registered with the Incorporated Societies but note that financial reporting
requires improvement.
· PCMS had significant reserves according to its year end 30 June 2019
financial accounts filed with the Incorporated Societies.
· Concerns from the community on the management and governance of the
association.
· There needs to be stronger alignment to the
local board outcomes.
21. There
is a significant risk associated with allocating funding to the organisations
with identified governance and operational concerns as their projects may not
be completed.
22. To
respond to these concerns, staff have developed a proposal to engage a third party
to co-design post-COVID-19 economic development recovery plan in collaboration
with the business associations, local businesses council staff.
23. Staff
propose carrying forward $50,000 of the unspent funding ($25,000 for each
organisation) to fund this recovery plan in 2020/2021.
24. Due to council budget restrictions following COVID-19, carry forward
will have to meet specific criteria. Staff have sought advice and believe the
scenario described would meet an exception as per the carry forward and
expenditure guidelines.
25. Remaining unspent funding (totaling $110,000) will be returned as
savings to the organization.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
26. The
business associations align with the criteria and use recycling and
environmentally appropriate waste systems. This will have a positive impact on
climate change.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
27. The Auckland
Council Emergency Budget has impacted the process of carrying forward unspent
budget, which has been taken into consideration.
28. Advice in
this report has been collated by staff from council’s Community
Empowerment Unit, Local Board Services and the Business Improvement District
Programme.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
29. Feedback
received from the local board have informed the recommendations.
30. The
business association’s initiatives are intended to contribute to the
local board plan outcomes of:
· Manukau transformation
· Revitalising town centres
· Parks and facilities that
meet people’s needs
· Healthy natural
environment
· Empowered, inclusive and
prosperous communities
· Honouring youth and
seniors
· It’s easy to get
around.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
31. Māori
make up 16 per cent of the local board population, which is higher than the
Auckland average by six per cent.
32. Māori
often suffer disproportionately lower socio-economic statuses compared to other
ethnicities and will benefit from an increase in town centre development and
economic stimulation, creating job and business opportunities.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
33. Both the
Ōtara Business Association and the Papatoetoe Central
Mainstreet Society Incorporated show high reserves in their current financial
statements. This has informed staff’s recommendation to not allocate any
funding to either organsiation with low associated risk.
34. Due to
COVID-19, financial processes and guidelines in council have changed to reduce
the risks associated with carry forward budgets.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
35. There is a
high risk that if funding is allocated at the present time, the purpose of the
funding will not be delivered due to identified operational and governance
issues within the two business organisations.
36. There is a
risk associated with not providing any funding for the two organisations in
relation to the proposed projects from each two group no longer going ahead.
37. There is a
minor reputational risk associated with amending the local board work
programme. Staff hope to have mitigated this through the above analysis and
making this report publicly accessible.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
38. Staff will
send correspondence to the business associations regarding this decision.
39. Staff will
progress an exception to restrictions on carry-forwards.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
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Authors
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Zella
Morrison Community Empowerment Unit Manager Strategic Brokers
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Authorisers
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Graham Bodman - General Manager Arts, Community and
Events
Victoria Villaraza - Relationship Manager,
Mangere-Otahuhu and Otara-Papatoetoe Local Boards
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