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Resolution
number WTK/2023/1
MOVED by Chairperson G Presland, seconded by Member L
Potauaine:
That the Waitākere Ranges Local Board:
a)
tuhi
ā-taipitopito / note:
i)
the mayor has
publicly indicated that local board funding was to be cut by five per cent.
ii)
because of the
funding calculation used the cut for the Waitākere Ranges Local Board is
nearly ten per cent.
iii)
the proposed
overall operational cost savings in the Mayoral proposal is $130 million. The
potential cuts faced by local boards are disproportionately large. If there
are to be cuts they should be made across all areas of Council activity.
iv)
current proposals
suggest that anticipated cuts to Full Facilities Maintenance Contracts and Arboriculture
Maintenance will be credited regionally and not locally. This will mean that
the cuts to other areas will potentially be disproportionately large.
v)
this means that
environmental projects, the arts and community support will bear the brunt of
the proposed cuts.
vi)
cuts to libraries
are neither anticipated nor feasible nor desirable.
vii)
Auckland has
recently been hit by a one in one thousand year storm that has caused
devastation to the city but particularly to the Waitākere Ranges local board area. Climate change has clearly played its part. The
cost and community resilience effort to rebuild will be extensive. Now is not
the time to minimise spending on climate change projects or the environment
and we urge the Council to focus on climate change and mitigation measures.
viii)
the proposed cuts
will mean:
A)
the Waitākere
Ranges Local Board will have to severely curtail its weeds programmes and
support for community weed initiatives when the flood clearly showed that weed-infected
slopes are unstable and the need to address and improve stability is vital.
B)
the Waitākere
Ranges Local Board will have to curtail action to address climate change when
such action has never been more necessary.
C)
arts, programmes
and facilities that contribute greatly to the area will have to be cut. In
particular funding for Te Uru Gallery, which has transformed Titirangi since
its opening and has improved business conditions for the village
dramatically, will be compromised.
D)
the ability of
Community Houses to pay the living wage will be compromised.
E)
relationships and
the nurturing of community organisations that perform important work very efficiently
will be compromised and some community organisations may not survive.
b)
tono / request that
the local consultation document content (Attachment
A) be amended to replace the first paragraph under the “Responding
to our budget challenge” heading (page 2) with the following wording:
“This year, the Governing
Body of Council’s proposed response to mitigate the budget pressures
for 2023/2024 includes a proposed reduction $16 million to local board
operational funding, which is made up of our Locally Driven Initiatives
budget and Asset Based Services budgets. As only a small portion of Asset
Based Services budget is available to be considered for savings due to
existing contractual commitments and the inability to realise savings for 2023/2024,
this means that the proposed reduction will likely represent a cut of up to 60
per cent to the board’s discretionary budgets. This will result in a
significant reduction in spending on local services such as arts and culture,
environment and climate response, community programmes, events and youth. The
Waitākere Ranges Local Board would need to reduce its planned operational
spend by $766,000.”
c)
tono / request that
the local supporting information content (Attachment
B) be amended to replace the Introduction section (page 1) with the
following wording:
“This year, the Governing
Body of Council’s proposed response to mitigate the budget pressures
for 2023/2024 includes a proposed reduction of $16 million to local board
operational funding, which is made up of our Locally Driven Initiatives
budget and Asset Based Services budgets. As only a small portion of Asset
Based Services budget is available to be considered for savings due to
existing contractual commitments and the inability to realise savings for 2023/2024,
this means that the proposed reduction will likely represent a cut of up to 60
per cent to the board’s discretionary budgets. This will result in a
significant reduction in spending on local services such as arts and culture,
environment and climate response, library services and opening hours,
community programmes, events and youth. The Waitākere Ranges Local Board
would need to reduce its planned operational spend by $766,000.”
d)
e whakapuaki ana / expresses
its concern that the leading nature of the wording in the consultation
documents tacitly implies that the adoption of the budget is a foregone
conclusion which could lead the public to question whether consultation is
genuine.
e)
whakaae / approve local consultation document content (Attachment A
as tabled and amended) and local supporting information content (Attachment B
as tabled and amended) for inclusion in the Annual Budget 2023/2024
consultation material.
f)
tautapa / delegate authority
to the local board Chair to approve any changes required to finalise the
local consultation document and supporting information content for the Waitākere Ranges
Local Board for the Annual Budget 2023/2024.
g)
whakaae / approve the following Have Your Say event in the Waitākere Ranges local board area during the Annual Budget 2023/2024
consultation period:
i)
The Waitākere Ranges Local Board
hearing style event will be held on Thursday 16 March, from 6.00pm to 8.00pm at the Waitākere Ranges Local Board office, 39
Glenmall Place, Glen Eden, Auckland.
h)
tautapa / delegate authority to the
local board Chair to approve any changes required to the Have Your Say event.
CARRIED
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