Minutes of Papakura Local Board

a) approve local consultation document content (Attachment A to the agenda report) and local supporting information content (Attachment B to the agenda report) for inclusion in the 10-year Budget 2021-2031 consultation material

b) delegate authority to the local board chairperson, Brent Catchpole to approve any changes required to finalise the local consultation document and supporting information content for the Papakura Local Board for the 10-year Budget 2021-2031

c) approve the following Have Your Say event in the local board area during the 10-year Budget 2021-2031 consultation period:

i) Have Your Say event, Wednesday 10 March 2021 from 5.30pm – 7.30pm.

d) delegate authority to the local board Chairperson Brent Catchpole, to approve any changes required to the Have Your Say event

e) delegate to the following elected members and staff the power and responsibility to hear from the public through “spoken (or New Zealand sign language) interaction” in relation to the local board agreement at the council’s public engagement events during the consultation period for the 10-year Budget 2021-2031:

i) local board members and chairperson

ii) General Manager Local Board Services, Local Area Manager, Local Board Senior Advisor, Local Board Advisor, Local Board Engagement Advisor

iii) any additional staff approved by the General Manager Local Board Services or the Group Chief Financial Officer

f) provide the following feedback on the Mayoral proposal (Attachment C to the agenda report) and potential regional consultation topics for the 10-year Budget 2021-2031:

Principles

i) Focus on vulnerable communities

· Economic and health shocks affect vulnerable communities and individuals disproportionately. A number of our vulnerable communities are faced with a starting point of historic underinvestment and gaps in service levels/infrastructure and this needs to be addressed now

· The Papakura Local Board believes this principle should be the primary focus for all decisions for the Long-term Plan

ii) Make bold decisions on what projects / services council can no longer provide or deliver

· Council can no longer deliver the same suite of projects or service levels from pre-Covid. The public need to know what projects / services we are no longer in the business of delivering and their expectations (and disappointment) managed as early as possible

iii) Use available funding levers to provide new infrastructure and maintain existing infrastructure to ensure the city’s recovery and future growth is on track, even if that means higher borrowing or rates in the short term

· Council is currently under-investing in maintaining current assets and infrastructure. To avoid unaffordable future catch-up costs, council should use its funding levers now (using increased debt through additional borrowing or increased revenue) to maintain assets and infrastructure. Given the extraordinary circumstances Covid-19 has presented, past Long-term Plan models of rates increases need to be reassessed and subject to a bold conversation with Aucklanders

iv) Continue to deliver on the intent of the Governance Framework Review and the principle of subsidiarity by empowering local boards to make decisions affecting local communities

· Continue to look for ways for council and Council Controlled Organisation decisions being governed by local boards to support local communities, local businesses, local economies and local placemaking

v) Promote and invest in Māori outcomes

· The Papakura Local Board continues to support the Emergency Budget position of maintaining investment in Māori Outcomes to support Auckland’s Māori Identity and Māori communities

Climate change

vi) The board supports focussing on partnerships with iwi to develop end to end regenerative economy (nursery, procurement, planning and maintenance) to significantly increase ngahere coverage in the urban south

vii) The board supports addressing transport emissions through the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP)

viii) The board supports investment in waste minimisation and resource recovery in the south

ix) The board supports option two - critical climate action and reducing corporate emissions, as the board is mindful of the affordability of further taxation for our local community. The board supports a proposal being discussed with Aucklanders and will provide its views when the public have spoken

Housing and growth infrastructure

x) The Long-term Plan is not likely to deliver funding to meet the infrastructure funding gap across Auckland to meet development demand

xi) The board supports option two - a targeted approach to investment and infrastructure funding (even without any additional funding provision) with the Long-term Plan clearly signalling priority development / investment areas

xii) The board believes the priority areas must focus the limited funding to maximise residential yield, within the existing area zones such as metropolitan centres in the Unitary Plan including addressing affordable housing, job creation and supporting vulnerable communities

Community investment

xiii) The Long-term Plan is not going to deliver the funding needed to completely meet the gap in community investment and asset servicing / development

xiv) It’s not just a choice between investment in renewals or developing new assets. Existing assets may not be fit for purpose and new assets can deliver services more efficiently and meet more of current rather than past needs

xv) If investment does not keep pace with growth a catch up should be planned for in the Long-term Plan

xvi) Local boards need support to optimise their current assets and re-invest in fit for purpose, cost-effective, integrated and sustainable assets

xvii) Council needs to develop a community assets investment plan that seeks to update (and where needed) rationalise the existing asset portfolio based on community usage, needs etc for local boards to make informed decisions

xviii) The board supports option three - a moderate budget increase, optimising property to ensure a tailored and alternative service delivery

xix) The board does not agree to the disposal of income generating assets such as the airport and Ports of Auckland shares as these off-set rates increases

xx) The board is happy for facilities to co-locate in a civic precinct, i.e. a purpose-built facility, to ensure offerings remain for the area that is growing

Water strategy and reform

xxi) The board will provide feedback on various aspects of this reform agenda as opportunities arise

xxii) The Manukau Harbour and Tamaki Estuary also require investment from a water quality targeted rate to improve water quality

xxiii) Invest in drought resilience through education programmes and incentives for households and businesses encouraging investment in rainwater harvest systems

xxiv) Continue to invest in community / iwi led restoration of local waterways

xxv) The board supports option two – asset management plan recommended scenario

Panuku funding model

xxvi) The local board agrees with the Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) review recommendation that if council wants a development agency it needs to fund it

xxvii) The board believes a review is required of Panuku’s role and the value it currently adds / can add in the future in conjunction with larger and legislatively mandated / empowered agencies such as Kāinga Ora

xxviii) The board believes Panuku needs a more focused development programme to allow involvement in promoting / developing areas which the market would otherwise be slow to invest in (address market failure)

xxix) The board also agrees with the CCO review recommendation that Panuku needs to reduce its corporate and remuneration costs immediately

xxx) The board reluctantly supports continuing with the current funding model until a review of Panuku’s service model and focus areas is completed. The board would support the review being completed with urgency

xxxi) The board reiterates its feedback provided on the Emergency Budget at its 8 July 2020 meeting:

· The board also has a concern regarding the ability of Panuku to fund its development programme through asset sales during an economic downturn where asset prices are depressed, without a corresponding reduction in the cost of development

· The board acknowledges the sale of underperforming assets and assets not needed for service delivery, is an efficient way of releasing capital for alternate use. The issue the board has with the current asset sale process is that it is led by Panuku which has an asset sale target and has very little incentive to listen to boards who may have a better understanding of alternate current and future uses for an asset

· For instance, Auckland Transport (AT) released two carparks as non-service property to Panuku, as AT are not in the business of providing parking in town centres. The local board has been fighting to delay the sale of these assets as parking continues to be a significant concern for commuters, businesses and visitors in the town centre. It is also likely to be even more of an issue in the future as development occurs in the town centre and the Papakura One Local Initiative (OLI) can only deliver a fraction of the commuter parking originally envisaged, if it is progressed at all

· The board doesn’t oppose asset sales in principle and has endorsed the divestment of many non-service assets in its area. It simply seeks a strategic approach to it

· The board questions the wisdom in selling income producing assets, especially when they provide an income source to fund council services, reduce the need for borrowing or subsidise costly services, such as pools, community centres and recreation centres. The board believes council should extricate itself from any commercial operation which is adequately provided by the private sector and does not produce a significant profit

Investment levels and funding levers

xxxii) The board supports the sale of non-strategic and non-services assets to fund council investments and services

xxxiii) The board recommends the development of an urgent plan as part of the community investment lane to determine how existing and new assets can meet the greatest amount of need in the most cost effective way to support local board decision-making

xxxiv) The board believes local boards need more support to optimise local assets to retain funding within the area and invest locally for the benefit of the local community

xxxv) The board is supportive of continuing to work with lenders and rating agencies to find prudent ways to increase debt in the short term to address the impact of Covid-19 until revenue sources recover

xxxvi) The board believes brave decisions are required on what services council can no longer deliver or needs to significantly reduce, so public expectations are managed as early as possible

xxxvii) Although the local board is concerned about the affordability of increased rates, the board believes it is time for a brave conversation with Aucklanders on this issue.

g) provide the following feedback for consideration in the 10-year Budget 2021-2031:

i) The board requests the Governing Body give direction to the Council Controlled Organisations, the Southern Initiative and council departments to support Papakura realising its Metropolitan Centre zoning status in the Auckland Unitary Plan

ii) The board believes that although Covid-19 has impacted council’s ability and delivery of the regional growth programme, decisions are required for funding to keep pace with growth to avoid disadvantaging communities and creating inequities

iii) The board requests additional Papakura (Asset Based Services) ABS budget for infrastructure and programme investment

iv) The board requests the reinstatement of the Local Board Capital Transport Fund budget to the pre-covid level

v) The board requests the Governing Body reinstate the funding for the Papakura Local Board One Local Initiative (OLI), the Papakura train station park and ride

vi) The board requests the Governing Body address the impact of the legacy underfunding in areas such as playgrounds, museum and the overall maintenance of assets in the Papakura Local Board area.

vii) The board requests the Governing Body to increase local board budgets to enable the local boards to plan meaningful outcomes for the future rather than being locked into a long-term budget based on the Emergency Budget funding levels.

viii) Supports the Franklin Local Board’s advocacy for a public transport route from Pine Harbor via Clevedon to Papakura, and return.

h) provide the following specific feedback on the Mayor’s proposal released on 1 December 2020:

i) In principle the local board supports finding $90 million of savings per annum, but these savings should not be at the expense of facilties renewals and maintenance or core services

ii) The local board believes that increasing sale of properties to return $70 million over the three years should not be to the detriment of maintaining council income levels or at the expense of the local board property optimisation options

iii) The one-off rate increase of 5% for one year is supported in principle by the local board

iv) The temporary higher borrowing ratio of up to 290% is supported if there is no long-term impact on credit ratings

v) Reserves the right to give further feedback once it hears from the community post-consultation.

CARRIED

Attachments

a Mayoral Proposal

Review of decision-making policy

Resolution number PPK/2020/216

MOVED by Chairperson B Catchpole, seconded by Member S Smurthwaite:

That the Papakura Local Board:

a) provide the following feedback on the allocations and delegations in the decision-making policy:

(i) The local board experiences some frustrations around the implementation of the allocation of decision-making table, and seeks more effective influence on:

- local parks events and activities, including the use of alcohol and alcohol bans

- particular resource consents and plan changes

- regional decisions that allocate development contributions

- regional policy decisions that impact at the local level, especially around ensuring that budget follows the policy to the local level

- sale of council assets, and the inability to reinvest in the local area

(ii) The local board requests that council officers and departments are trained in the allocation of decision-making and are proactively responsive to it, so that they can advise and implement it effectively

(iii) The local board requests that the council organisation as a whole (including Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs)) resources the allocation of decision-making appropriately, as it often feels that organisational advice, support and delivery is skewed towards regional decision-making.

b) endorse the proposed approach to the long-term plan consultation.

CARRIED

13 Consideration of Extraordinary Items

There was no consideration of extraordinary items.

5.08pm 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 Papakura Local Board HELD ON

DATE:.........................................................................

CHAIRPERSON:........................................................

Chairperson	Brent Catchpole
Deputy Chairperson	Jan Robinson, JP
Members	Felicity Auva'a
	George Hawkins
	Keven Mealamu
	Sue Smurthwaite