Code of conduct

Part three: Relationships and behaviours

This part of the code sets out the council's agreed standards of behaviour. Some of the matters described in this part of the code reflect other legislation such as the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968.

Relationships with other members

Successful teamwork is a critical element in the success of any democratically elected organisation.

No team will be effective unless mutual respect exists between members. With this in mind the mayor and councillors will conduct their dealings with each other in ways that:

maintain public confidence in the office to which they have been elected
are open and honest
focus on issues rather than personalities
avoid aggressive, offensive or abusive conduct

Relationships with staff

The effective performance of the council also requires a high level of cooperation and mutual respect between the mayor, councillors and staff. To ensure that the level of cooperation and trust is maintained, the mayor and councillors will:

recognise that the chief executive is the employer (on behalf of council) of all council employees, and as such only the chief executive may hire, dismiss or instruct or censure an employee
inform themselves of the obligations that the council and the chief executive have as employers and observe those requirements at all times
treat all employees with courtesy and respect (including the avoidance of aggressive, offensive or abusive conduct towards employees)
observe any guidelines that the chief executive puts in place regarding contact with employees
not do anything which compromises, or could be seen as compromising, the impartiality of an employee
avoid publicly criticising any employee in any way that reflects on the competence and integrity of the employee
raise concerns about employees with the chief executive, and concerns about the chief executive only with the mayor or Assessors and Audit sub-committee
the mayor will work with the mayoral office staff on day-to-day operational issues. Each Councillor has a manager and administrator from Democracy Services allocated to them to manage and provide administrative and support services, eg:

requests for information

reporting on operational maintenance requirements etc

Committee chairs work closely with directors and senior staff, covering their committee's field of activity. This is to ensure that the chair is briefed on background issues and processes, so they can properly manage their portfolio.

The mayor and councillors should be aware that failure to observe this portion of the code of conduct may compromise the council's obligations to act as a good employer and may expose the council to civil litigation and audit sanctions.

Relationships with the community

Effective council decision-making depends on productive relationships between the mayor and councillors and the community at large.

The mayor and councillors will ensure that individuals and groups are accorded respect in their dealings with the council, have their concerns listened to, and deliberated on in accordance with the requirements of the act.

The mayor and councillors will act in a manner that encourages and values community involvement in local democracy.

Contact with the media

The media plays an important part in local democracy. In order to fulfil this role the media needs access to accurate, timely information abut the affairs of the council. From time to time, individual members will be approached to comment on a particular issue either on behalf of the council, or as an elected member in their own right. This part of the code deals with the right and duties of councillors when speaking to the media on behalf of the council, or in their own right.

The following rules apply for media contact on behalf of the council:

the mayor or relevant committee chairperson is the first point of contact for the official council view on any issue. Where the mayor is absent, any matters will be referred to the deputy mayor or relevant committee chairperson. For local ward matters, the mayor, deputy mayor or committee chairs may refer local matters to local ward councillors.
where matters are delegated to committees, the committee chair will be the official council spokesperson to the media
the mayor my refer any matter to the relevant committee chairperson or to the chief executive for their comment
no other member may comment on behalf of the council without having first obtained the approval of the Mayor and the relevant committee chairperson

The mayor and councillors are free to express a personal view in the media at any time, provided the following rules are observed:

media comments must not state or imply either directly or by omission that they represent the views of the council
where the mayor or a councillor is making a statement that is contrary to a council decision or council policy, they must not state or imply (either directly or by omission) that his or her statements represent a majority view
media comments must observe the other requirements of the code of conduct, eg not disclose confidential information, or compromise the impartiality or integrity of staff

Where a media organisation appears to wrongly assume that the councillor is speaking on behalf of the council, the councillor should try to correct this assumption wherever practicable.

Confidential information

In the course of their duties the mayor and councillors will occasionally receive information that may need to be treated as confidential. This will generally be information that is either commercially sensitive or is personal to a particular individual or organisation.

The mayor and councillors must not use or disclose confidential information for any purpose other than the one for which the information was supplied or deliberations where meetings are held with the public excluded.

Resolutions made with the public excluded remain confidential unless approved for public release by the meeting or chairman.

The mayor and councillors should be aware that failure to observe these provisions will impede the performance of the council by inhibiting information flows and undermining public confidence in the council. Failure to observe these provisions may also expose the council to prosecution under the Privacy act 1993 and/or civil litigation.

Conflicts of interest

The mayor and councillors must be careful that they maintain a clear separation between their personal interests and their duties as an elected member. This is to ensure that people who fill positions of authority carry out their duties free from bias (whether real or perceived). Members therefore need to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968 which concerns financial interests, and with other legal requirements concerning non-financial conflicts of interest.

The Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968 provides that an elected member is disqualified from office, or from election to office, if that member is concerned or interested in contracts under which payments made by or on behalf of the council exceed $25,000 in any financial year.

Additionally, the mayor and councillors are prohibited from participating in any council discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a pecuniary interest, other than an interest in common with the general public. The same rules also apply where the member's spouse (including de facto partners) contracts with the council or has a pecuniary interest. The mayor and councillors must declare their interests at council meetings where matters in which they have a pecuniary interest arise.

If the member is in any doubt as to whether or not a particular course of action (including a decision to take no action) raises a conflict of interest, then the member should seek guidance from the chief executive immediately.

Members may also contact the audit office for guidance as to whether that member has a pecuniary interest. If there is a pecuniary interest, the member may seek an exemption to allow that member to participate or vote on a particular issue in which they may have a pecuniary interest. The latter must be done before the discussion or vote. The chief executive must also seek approval from the audit office for contractual payments to members, their spouses or their companies that exceed the $25,000 annual limit.

Failure to observe the requirements of the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) act 1968 could leave the elected member open to prosecution. In the event of a conviction, elected members can be removed from office.

Standing orders

The Local Government Act 2002 requires the mayor and councillors to adhere to the standing orders of the council. The same legal requirements as a code of conduct apply to adoption and amendment of these standing orders.

Ethics

Auckland City council seeks to promote the highest standards of ethical conduct amongst the mayor and councillors. Accordingly, the mayor and councillors will:

claim only for legitimate expenses as laid down by any determination of the remuneration authority then in force, and any lawful policy of the council developed in accordance with that determination
not influence, or attempt to influence, any council employee to take actions that may benefit that member, or the member's family or business interests
not use council resources for personal business (including campaigning)
not solicit, demand or request any gift, reward or benefit by virtue of their position
notify the chief executive of any gifts intended to influence or reward specific decisions of councillors in their roles as councillor.

Substantial gifts received by the mayor and councillors in the course of their duties are gifts to the city and shall be retained by the council.

A substantial gift is defined as a gift that has a purchase/market value of over $500, or the general expectation of the person presenting it is that it is for Auckland City Council's retention (eg for display purposes).

Hospitality:

Offers of hospitality such as dinner, drinks, attendance at shows/events, received by the mayor and/or councillors that have a value less than $500 and are not intended to influence that person around a specific decision or outcome, are appropriate to be accepted.

Disqualification of members from office

The mayor and councillors are automatically disqualified from office if they are convicted of a criminal offence punishable by two or more years imprisonment, or of certain breaches of the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968, or if they cease to be or lose their status as an elector.

The mayor and councillors must declare whether they are an undischarged bankrupt.

The council believes that bankruptcy does raise questions about the soundness of a person's financial management skills and their judgement in general. The council therefore requires the mayor or any councillors who are declared bankrupt to notify the chief executive as soon as practicable after being declared bankrupt.

Compliance and review

This part deals with ensuring that the mayor and councillors adhere to the code of conduct and mechanisms for the review of the code of conduct.