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Resolution
number MR/2023/62
MOVED by Chairperson G Murphy, seconded by
Member A Cunningham-Marino:
That the Manurewa Local Board:
a) receive consultation feedback on the proposed Manurewa Local
Board priorities and activities for 2023/2024 including proposed local
activities to discontinue, reduce spending on, or increase fees, to meet the
reduction in local board funding proposed by the Governing Body
b) receive consultation feedback on regional
topics in the Annual Budget 2023/2024 and related policies from people and
organisations based in the Manurewa local board area
c) provide the following input on regional topics
in the proposed Annual Budget 2023/2024 and related policies to the Governing
Body:
i)
Operating spending
reductions
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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Maintaining the currently reduced number of public transport
services (as of December 2022) for 2023/2024 to save $21 million
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Support
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·
The
board notes that bus services in Manurewa are not directly affected by
maintaining these reductions. The areas that are affected have a higher
provision of alternative transport options available than Manurewa.
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Maintaining
reduced services should not affect the ability to cope with increased bus
usage due to the upcoming rail line closures.
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Reducing funding to Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to save a
further $27.5 million
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Do not support
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·
The
board does not support changes to entry fees for regional facilities such
as the zoo, MOTAT and Auckland Museum that will have the effect of making
it more expensive for families, especially those on lower incomes, to
access them.
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Reducing regional services such as community and education
programmes, arts and culture programmes, regional events, economic
development, and other social services activities such as homelessness
funding, community empowerment and funding for youth centres to save $20
million
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Do not support
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·
The
board cannot support reductions in regional services such as arts
programmes, regional events, community programmes and social services that
are applied across the entire of Auckland without any regard to equity.
Communities of greatest need such as Manurewa will be disproportionately
affected by such reductions.
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Reducing
or ending the funding currently provided to The Southern Initiative (TSI)
would represent a significant loss of investment in communities of greatest
need. We support retaining funding for TSI and reviewing their role to
ensure that the work they are doing remains relevant, and that they are
accountable to the local boards in whose areas they operate.
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Funding
for regional events that celebrate diverse cultures, such as Te Matatini
and the Pasifika Festival, should be maintained.
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The
board does not support the proposed budget cuts to Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). It
is a vital service for vulnerable communities.
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Reducing local board funded activities across all boards to
save $16 million
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Do not support
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Manurewa
has a high population of vulnerable groups, and many of the community
organisations that support them are reliant on funding from the board. It
has been acknowledged through the Governance Framework Review that Manurewa
has been historically underfunded by Auckland Council. In fact, the degree
of underfunding of this board is twice that of the next most underfunded
board. This is in spite of the fact that our community experiences some of
the highest levels of deprivation in Auckland. To now expect them to suffer
from a further reduction in funding is unjust and inequitable. We believe
that any good achieved through these savings would be disproportionate to
the harm caused by the reduction in funding.
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If
reductions in local board funding are made, this should be done with an
equity lens, looking at which areas will be most affected by such
reductions, and lessening the effects on communities of greatest need.
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Reducing regional contestable grants to save $3 million
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Do not support
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Our
general view is that regional contestable grants have historically been
poorly targeted and difficult for communities of greatest need to access.
However, in considering this proposal, the board has taken into account
groups in their area who will be adversely affected by these reductions.
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The
John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation receives $180,000 of
funding annually through regional contestable grants. The activities of the
foundation benefit 18,000 children across 91 primary schools in south
Auckland, and the loss of this funding would have a severely detrimental
effect on communities of greatest need.
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No longer directly providing early childhood education
services to save $1 million
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Support
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The
board supports discontinuing provision of early childhood education (ECE)
services by Auckland Council. When these services were first established,
there was a lack of available ECE services for families. Private provision
of these services is now widespread, and Government funding of 20 free
hours of ECE means that it is no longer necessary for the council to
provide them.
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ii)
Amending Auckland
International Airport Limited Shareholding Policy
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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To sell Auckland Council’s shares in AIAL
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Do not support
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The
shares in Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) now held by
Auckland Council were held by the former Manukau City Council and Auckland
City Council at amalgamation. We believe that if the shares are ever sold,
the funds realised from the sale should be used to directly benefit the
communities in those former council areas. Other councils that held shares
and sold them before amalgamation were able to use the proceeds to pay for
assets that to benefit their residents. It would be unfair if the former
Manukau City Council and Auckland City Council areas are not able to
realise a similar direct benefit.
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We
do not consider that paying down debt that was not accrued by the residents
of those areas is a similar direct benefit.
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Selling
the shares at a time when council’s financial position is weaker
essentially means that the proceeds are being used to maintain the status
quo. We believe that any decision to sell the shares should be based on
using the proceeds to improve the situation of residents, not to fill a
budget hole.
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The
Governance Framework Review has identified several local boards that have
been historically underfunded, including Manurewa. If the shares were sold
at a time when the proceeds are not needed to maintain the status quo, some
of the funds could be used to address these historical inequity issues.
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We
acknowledge the budget gap has increased from $270M to $295M to $375M.
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Ideally,
the board would like to retain all assets, reduce the debt burden, and have
no rate increase noting the appalling cost of living crisis that now grips
many of our constituents. That is not practical and it will require a mix
of levers to be pulled.
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The
budget gap is the product of a structural imbalance in the budget, a
failure to account for the cost of depreciating existing assets,
unprecedented inflation, COVID-19, climate change and storm damage, and
unfunded mandates (particularly in the transport space) which are soon
going to bite the regional budget. The board’s strong advice to the
Governing Body is to firstly review and adjust its forward capex and
operating work programmes to reflect immediate need and asset maintenance,
sustain local services and activities, and direct the CCOs to do the same.
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iii) Managing rates and debt
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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To increase rates by 4.66 percent.
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Do not support
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The
board supports implementing a budget package combining a higher rates
increase and increased borrowing, where needed to build and maintain
necessary infrastructure, in order to balance the budget without the sale
of AIAL shares or undertaking the operating spending reductions opposed by
the board above.
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To increase debt by $75 million
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Do not support
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The
board supports implementing a budget package combining a higher rates
increase and increased borrowing, where needed to build and maintain necessary
infrastructure, in order to balance the budget without the sale of AIAL
shares or undertaking the operating spending reductions opposed by the
board above.
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To reduce Natural Environment and Water Quality Targeted
Rates.
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Support
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The
board supports reducing the Natural Environment Targeted Rate (NETR) and
Water Quality Targeted Rate (WQTR) by two thirds in the 2023/2024 financial
year.
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iv) Storm response
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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To increase rates by an additional 1 per cent to fund a
storm response fund
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Support
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The
board supports an additional 1 per cent rates increase to fund a storm
response fund, subject to the following feedback:
o Current service levels
needed to avoid flooding effects, such as ensuring that on-street drains
are being regularly cleared of litter, need to be consistently carried out.
o Civil Defence facilities
sufficient to support the community during a natural disaster need to be
established and maintained throughout the city. These facilities should be
equipped to be self-sufficient in the event of a disaster, including
provision of solar power.
o Council should review
whether central Government funding for disaster response is adequate and
advocate for increased funding if not.
o Local Boards should have
oversight on any use of the storm response fund in their local board area.
o There is a need to resource
more frequent emergency management drills to ensure community preparedness
for natural disasters.
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v)
Other rates, fees
and charges
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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To introduce a one-off fee for residents wishing to change
bin sizes
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Support
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The
board supports introducing a $40 fee for swapping between bin sizes.
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To extend the food scraps targeted rate to new areas
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Support
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The
board supports extending the Food Scrap Service and targeted rate to
Manurewa.
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To change which bus service are funded by the Climate Action
Targeted Rate
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Support
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The
board supports partially reprioritising $10.5 million of additional bus
service expenditure that was planned to be funded by the Climate Action
Targeted Rate (CATR) for the 2023/2024 year, noting that this proposal does
not impact on the level of the CATR charged in 2023/2024 or the plans for
CATR funded services beyond 2023/2024.
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To increase fee for swimming pool/spa pool fencing
compliance targeted rate
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Support
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The
board supports increasing the inspection fee and annual targeted rate to
reflect actual costs.
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To amend the Community Occupancy Guidelines
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Do not support
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Our
board will not increase maintenance and administration costs for community
groups and sports clubs who hold community leases in Manurewa. However, we
acknowledge granting local boards greater discretion over such charges in
line with the principles of the Governance Framework Review, and we support
amending the guidelines to allow any other boards who may wish to implement
such changes to do so.
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To review fees for
bookable spaces in council managed pool and leisure facilities.
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Do not support
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The
board does not support the establishment of standardised baseline fees for
services in the Active Communities – Bookable Spaces portfolio across
Auckland.
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We
question whether standardising fees is a desirable outcome. Standardising
fees will disproportionately impact low-income communities such as
Manurewa. We would prefer that local boards are able to set fees that are
appropriate for the needs of their local community. We believe that making
the standardisation of fees a Governing Body decision is not in keeping
with the principles of the Governance Framework Review.
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Given
the historical underfunding of Manurewa by Auckland Council, we question
the implementation of a policy that raises fees on this community. We
believe that the setting of fees for services should be done with an equity
lens, and that fees should be lowered for communities of greatest need.
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If
fees need to be standardised, this should be done gradually over several
years to minimise the impacts on users. We would prefer that higher fees be
charged to users of Manurewa facilities who do not reside in the Manurewa
local board area and that the fees for Manurewa residents are kept at a
lower level.
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vi) Revenue and Financing Policy
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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Pause the Long-Term Differential Strategy (LTDS) for one
year.
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Support
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The board supports pausing the LTDS for one year.
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vii) Māori Land Rates Remission and
Postponement Policy
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Proposal
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Support /
Do not support
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Local Board Input
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Amend the Māori Land Rates Remission and Postponement
Policy to provide a partial remission of rates to general title
papakāinga, where that land is:
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protected
from being sold out of Māori ownership.
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for
the sole use of hapū/iwi (tribe).
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Support
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The board supports a partial discount of up to 10% of the
rateable land value for papakāinga in general title if land is
protected from alienation and papakāinga for the sole use of
hapū.
The board requests that this policy is extended to
papakāinga owned by urban marae.
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d) provide the following advocacy on any local
initiatives for the Annual
Budget 2023/2024 to the Governing Body:
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Initiative
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Description
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Equitable funding for Manurewa
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The Governance Framework Review identified that there are
several local boards that have been historically underfunded by Auckland
Council, and that Manurewa has had by far the greatest funding shortfall of
these boards. The level of underfunding experienced by our community is
twice that of the next most underfunded board, even though Manurewa is
clearly a community of greatest need, has the highest number of Māori
residents of any local board area, and has some of the highest levels of
deprivation in Auckland.
We are asking that these historical funding inequities are
redressed so that the residents in Manurewa can have the same quality of
facilities, levels of service and funding that residents in other parts of
the city have had for the last decade.
In the previous term, Governing Body committed in principle to
achieving funding equity for local boards in the 10-year Budget 2024-2034
(GB/2021/138). We ask that Governing Body confirm its commitment to this
goal and look at ways to achieve funding equity for the most underfunded
boards in the shortest timeframe possible.
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Local Board Transport Capital Fund
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Maintain funding of the Local Board Transport Capital Fund and
consider increases to this funding to maintain spending power.
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CARRIED
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