APOLOGIES
At
the close of the agenda no apologies had been received.
CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES
The
minutes of the Regional Governance Committee meeting held on Tuesday, 13 October
2009 to be confirmed as a true and correct record.
EXTRAORDINARY BUSINESS
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Section 46A(7) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings
Act 1987 (as amended) states: |
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"An item that is not on the agenda for a meeting may be dealt with at
that meeting if- |
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(a) |
The local authority by resolution so decides; and |
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(b) |
The presiding member explains at the meeting at a time when it is open
to the public,- |
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(i) |
The reason why the item is not on the agenda; and |
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(ii) |
The reason why the discussion of the item cannot be delayed until a
subsequent meeting." |
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Section 46A(7A) of the Local Government Official Information and
Meetings Act 1987 (as amended) states: |
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"Where an item is not on the agenda for a meeting,- |
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(a) |
That item may be discussed at that meeting if- |
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(i) |
That item is a minor matter relating to the general business of the
local authority; and |
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(ii) |
The presiding member explains at the beginning of the meeting, at a time
when it is open to the public, that the item will be discussed at the
meeting; but |
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(b) |
no resolution, decision, or recommendation may be made in respect of
that item except to refer that item to a subsequent meeting of the local
authority for further discussion." |
PUBLIC FORUM
A
period of time (approximately 20 minutes) is set aside for members of the public
to address the meeting on matters within its delegated authority. A maximum of
5 minutes per item is allowed, following which there may be questions from
members.
At
the close of the agenda no requests to speak had been received.
REGIONAL GOVERNANCE UPDATE
| Tony Edhouse |
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| Senior Research Analyst, Strategy Office |
2 November 2009 |
Providing a report that updates the Regional Governance
Committee on the various streams of work underway related to transition to the
Auckland Council.
Preliminary information relating to wards and local boards
was sent to the Local Government Commission (LGC) on 16 October. The LGC will
release a draft proposal on 20 November. Auckland City Council will then need
to adopt a formal position on boundary and representation issues in order to
make its submission to the LGC by 11 December. An options analysis and
evaluation process is being undertaken to assist councillors.
The Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) has been given
responsibility for allocating functions and funding to local boards. Work is
underway to determine which non-regulatory functions local boards will be
allocated on day one. This work is proceeding on the general principle that all
non-regulatory activities must be allocated to local boards unless
decision-making on an Auckland-wide basis will better promote the wellbeing of
communities across Auckland. The ATA work also covers on local board funding,
local board plans and agreements, and the resourcing, processes and protocols
required to ensure the boards are functional on day one.
A regional work programme is underway to develop strategic
planning framework options for the Auckland Council to consider. This work has
been approved by the ATA. There is also regional work continuing on the appeals
resolution process (focusing on Environment Court appeals between councils) with
the intent of 'clearing the desk' before the Auckland Council is established.
Work is continuing on policy development for the waterfront
development agency this includes whether the agency should be established as a
council controlled organisation, how it will work with the local board
responsible for the CBD, the regional transport agency and the Auckland Council,
as well as the geographical boundaries of the agency. Our current understanding
is that the third Auckland governance bill will contain provisions for a
waterfront development agency.
The ATA is developing detailed project plans for work
streams and projects and looking to select 'candidate' or priority projects.
These projects will identify what needs to be completed over the next 12 months
and what kind of changes, if any, can be expected in each work area before
November 2010. Auckland City Council is currently leading several ATA projects
and is also hosting several ATA projects.
Auckland City Council has responded to transition by
establishing four programmes of work into a transition portfolio. The
programmes are legislation, transport, finance and treasury, and 'other' ATA
activities ('other' includes, for example, community services, HR, customer
services, communications, governance and environment). This provides for an
integrated approach to transition activities and allows the increasing demands
on staff to be closely monitored.
The ATA has published a discussion document containing a
proposed high-level organisation structure for the Auckland Council. The draft
organisational structure presented in the document is not final and work on the
design of the council and the council controlled organisations is continuing.
The agency is seeking feedback by 26 November 2009.
Recommending that the Regional Governance Committee notes:
- That preliminary
information about local boards, wards and boundaries was sent to the Local
Government Commission on 16 October 2009 and that the council will need to make
a submission about boundaries and representation to the Commission by 11
December 2009
- That the policy
work in preparation for the council's submission on the third Auckland
governance bill is continuing with a focus on local boards, strategic planning,
transport, and a waterfront development agency
- That transition
activities are increasing with Auckland City Council currently taking a
leadership role on several ATA projects (for example, budgeting and reporting,
procurement, local boards and customer services) and that an integrated approach
is being taken to coordinating the council's transition activities with emphasis
on managing the increasing staff resources required
- That the Auckland
Transition Agency published a discussion document containing a proposed
high-level organisation structure for the Auckland Council and the agency is
seeking feedback about the document by 26 November 2009
AUCKLAND TRANSPORT GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS
| John Williamson |
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| Strategic advisor |
29 October 2009 |
Reporting that Government has released a Cabinet paper
confirming it will establish an Auckland transport agency (RTA) to be
responsible for all local government transport delivery functions. The RTA will
be a council controlled organisation (CCO) of the Auckland Council. It will be
established by the Auckland Transition Agency and will begin operations on 1
November 2010. This report sets out policy positions in relation to transport
for Council to consider, as a basis for Council's submission on the third
Auckland bill.
Previously Auckland City Council has supported the transfer
of local government transport activities to the new Auckland Council to enable
it to decide which transport functions might be better managed through a CCO and
which would be better managed via a department of Auckland Council. Council has
also indicated a desire for effective integration with central government's
transport responsibilities in Auckland.
However, feedback indicates that the Government is strongly
attached to the proposed RTA and would be unlikely to support either a Auckland
Council transport department or a fully integrated transport agency encompassing
New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) and KiwiRail.
Therefore, officers recommend that Auckland City Council
accepts the Government's proposed RTA model and makes recommendations about the
operation of the RTA that would best enable the outcomes of good governance and
improved transport delivery for Auckland. More effective integration between
local and central government transport activities in Auckland should also remain
a key policy position for Council.
The RTA will require a substantial proportion of its
expenditure (around $650 million per annum) to be funded by Auckland Council
making effective governance and accountability mechanisms an imperative. This
involves achieving the right 'balance of power' between the Auckland Council and
the RTA and minimising any tendency to resort to less effective forms of control
(such as control via funding).
The cabinet paper envisages prescriptive legislation
applying to the RTA suggesting fixed, statutory governance arrangements. We
recommend Auckland City Council advocates that the RTA is established in
accordance with the CCO provisions of the current Local Government Act (LGA),
unless deviating from these provisions will lead to a better governance
outcome. The current CCO provisions in the Local Government Act 2002 provide a
more enabling framework, consistent with principles of good governance. This
will allow the Auckland Council greater flexibility and discretion in the
governance of the RTA.
In a similar vein we recommend that initial ownership and
control arrangements of assets should be sufficiently flexible (i.e. not
locked in through legislation) to allow the Auckland Council discretion to
modify these once it takes control of the RTA. However, balanced against this
will be the need to ensure that the RTA is given certainty and security around
the control of transport assets.
The cabinet paper does not explain how the initial board
members will be appointed. We recommend that Auckland City Council advocate for
the Auckland Transition Agency to be empowered to appoint an interim board for a
specified period. This will allow the Auckland Council time to develop its own
appointments policy. An understanding of transport and land-use integration, an
understanding of the local and national transport interface in Auckland and the
interface between transport and the community should be important considerations
when recruiting for board members.
The Government proposes that an NZTA representative be
appointed to any Auckland Council committee considering the Regional Land
Transport Strategy (RLTS) and to the RTA board as an advisor to assist with
Auckland and central government transport integration. We propose that Auckland
City Council uses the third Auckland bill to seek changes to the transport
legislation to direct NZTA and KiwiRail to work collaboratively with the RTA and
Auckland Council.
The new Regional Land Transport Strategy has been released
for consultation but the cabinet paper is unclear about the role of the RLTS as
a guiding document for the RTA. Without a RLTS it will be difficult to make
decisions based on strategy but time is likely to be required for the Auckland
Council to review the existing RLTS to ensure it is in line with its own
strategic priorities. Equally, the RTA will not have developed a Regional Land
Transport Programme (RLTP) by day 1. Transitional arrangements around a
transport strategy and programme will be required.
With regards to local boards, the cabinet paper sees the
boards being responsible for planning and funding of local transport projects as
long as they are provided for in the RLTP. The RTA will deliver all local
transport projects. The interface between the Auckland Council, RTA and local
boards has still to be clarified. We suggest that Auckland City Council should
support local boards having appropriate decision making responsibilities on
local transport matters and that the principles governing the role of local
boards as set out in the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 should
apply to transport.
Recommending that the Regional
Governance Committee:
- Accepts the
Government's proposed model for a regional transport agency, responsible for all
local government transport delivery functions and makes recommendations about
the operation of the agency that would best enable the outcomes of good
governance and improved transport delivery for Auckland
- Seeks to ensure
that the legislation establishing the transport agency allows the Auckland
Council maximum flexibility and discretion in the governance of the transport
agency and in particular advocate that the agency be established in line with
the CCO provisions of the Local Government Act 2002, unless deviating from these
provisions will lead to a better governance outcome
- Advocates that the
ownership or control of assets is not constrained in legislation and allows the
Auckland Council discretion to modify these arrangements once it takes control
of the Auckland transport agency while also ensuring that the transport agency
is given adequate certainty and security around the control of transport assets
- Advocates for the
Auckland Transition Agency to be empowered to appoint an That the Regional
Governance Committee interim board to allow the Auckland Council time to develop
its own appointments policy
- Advocates for
changes to transport legislation which direct NZTA and KiwiRail to work
collaboratively with the transport agency and the Auckland Council
- Advocates for
transitional arrangements to be made with regards to both transport strategy and
the proposed regional land transport programme
- Supports the
development of arrangements between the Auckland Council, the transport agency
and the local boards to enable local boards to have appropriate decision making
responsibilities with regards to local transport matters and to work
collaboratively with the RTA to deliver transport services agreed in a 3-year
local board plan.
