Attachment 6

GDC Response to SOLGM

Discussion Papers Two, Three and Four

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Attachment 6

Response to SOLGM Discussion Papers Two, Three and Four

Introduction

The Gisborne District Council welcomes the opportunity to provide a response to SOLGM’s

Efficiency Taskforce Discussion Papers. In summary Gisborne District Council largely supports the

recommendations in Papers 2 and 3 and…

Paper Two: Consultation and Decision-making

Recommendation Council Position Comments

Decision making – Options for Discussion

Recommendation One:

That sections 77-79 of the LGA be replaced with a single

decision-making provision that sets out a series of principles, and

operates in a manner similar to section 82.

SUPPORT

Guidance on Significance

Recommendation Two:

That good practice guidance be prepared on significance

policies and the assessment of significance in general

SUPPORT

The Role of the Mayor

Recommendation Three:

That proposals to make the Mayor responsible for ensuring

effective engagement and establishing processes not proceed.

SUPPORT

Constraining Legislative and Judicial Expectations

Recommendation Four:

Limit the duty to consult to only those situations covered in the

Local Government Act and other legislation.

SUPPORT

Recommendation Five:

Remove port company shares, airport company shares and

social housing from the definition of strategic asset.

SUPPORT

Choosing Consultation and Engagement Processes

Recommendation Six:

That the special consultative procedure be left in place as an

option only, while allowing councils to employ another

technique or techniques subject to:

SUPPORT

(iii) a minimum level of protection for the community, and

(iv) a defined set of avenues for judicial challenge.

An Engagement Policy

Recommendation Seven:

That local authorities be required to adopt an engagement policy.

STRONGLY

SUPPORT

“Crediting” Previous Consultation

What would crediting consultation look like?

Recommendation Eight:

That the Taskforce reject “crediting” of previous consultation as

an option. SUPPORT

GDC supports rejecting the idea

of ‘crediting’ previous consultation

for the reasons set out in

paragraphs 84. and 85 of SOLGMs

discussion paper.

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Recommendation Council Position Comments

Summaries

Recommendation Nine:

That the Local Government Act be amended to require

separate summaries if and only if the related statement of

proposal is more than 4 A4 pages in length.

SUPPORT

Good Practice Guidance

Recommendation Ten:

That SOLGM produces good practice guidance: SUPPORT

(i) To support the sector’s understanding of any change to the

consultation and decision-making provisions.

(ii) To build awareness of consultation techniques that have

succeeded especially in engaging with “hard to reach”

groups.

Paper Three: The Accountability Cycle

Recommendation Council Position Comments

Community Outcomes

1. That the community outcomes be renamed Council’s

strategic objectives (or similar).

NEITHER SUPPORT

NOR OPPOSE

2. That the requirement to disclose the results of any monitoring

community outcomes in the annual report be repealed. SUPPORT

3. That councils be required to monitor their progress towards

their council objectives and to report on the results of this

monitoring at least once every three years.

SUPPORT

The Long-Term Plan – Role and Purpose

4. That a requirement to plan long-term remains a part of the

accountability cycle.

STRONGLY

SUPPORT

5. That the statement of purpose for the LTP be amended to

clarify that the LTP is a strategic document. SUPPORT

Long-Term Plan Development

6. That option 4: Reducing the size of the LTP (aka the Iceberg

model) be the basis for the future development of the LTP. SUPPORT

7. That activity management planning be made a legal

rather than a practical requirement.

CONDITIONAL

SUPPORT

Activity Information

8. That the requirement to disclose significant negative effects

be removed from the LTP. SUPPORT

9. That a common understanding be reached as to the

meaning of the phrase “in detail for the first three years and

in outline for the years thereafter”.

SUPPORT

Non-Financial Performance Information

10. That the term major aspects of levels of service be

amended to read major levels of service (or similar) SUPPORT

11. That requirements to disclose performance information

remain in the LTP “as is”. SUPPORT

12. That the sector develops a “good practice” set of measures

across those services commonly provided by local authorities. SUPPORT

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Recommendation Council Position Comments

Capital Expenditure

13. That, consistent with the move to mandatory AMPs,

requirements to disclose all capital expenditure be

removed from the LTP, and be replaced with a requirement

to disclose significant capital projects only.

SUPPORT

Assessments and Waste Management Plans

14. That the requirement to disclose variations from the Assessment

of Water and Sanitary Services, and the Waste Management

and Minimisation Plan be removed from the LTP.

SUPPORT

Council Controlled Organisations

15. That LTP disclosures of CCO information focus only on

significant CCOs (as defined above). SUPPORT

Policies on Māori Capacity

16. That disclosures covering policies on developing the capacity

of Maori to contribute to decision-making be moved from the

long-term plan to the local governance statement.

SUPPORT

Financial Strategy

17. That the provisions specifying the content of a financial

strategy be simplified by: SUPPORT

a. removing factors i) – iii) from the list of mandatory

content i.e. letting local authorities and their auditors

determine what issues should be included in the

financial strategy

b. removing references to limits on rates from the financial

strategy, while retaining references to rates increases

and debt

c. removing policies on security for borrowing from the

financial strategy and placing these in the borrowing

management policy

d. removing the requirement to disclose objectives and

quantified targets for investments from the financial

strategy and placing these in the investment policy.

Significance Policies

18. That the requirement to show a summary of the policy on

significance be removed from the LTP. SUPPORT

Financial Reporting

19. That there be a review of the suitability of NZ PBE as a basis

for local authority financial statements not less than three

years after the initial commencement date.

OPPOSE For any review to be successful

and gain traction there needs to

be a whole of public benefit

entity review as opposed to only

Local Government driving the

review and request for change.

20. That the requirements to produce a funding impact

statement for the whole of council, and for each group be

repealed and replaced with a requirement to produce a

GAAP compliant cost of service statement for each group

of activities (or alternatively a GAAP compliant income and

expenditure statement).

SUPPORT

21. That the sector produces good practice guidance on plain

English financial reporting once NZ PBE standards have had

the opportunity to “bed in”.

SUPPORT

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Recommendation Council Position Comments

22. That the Financial Reporting Regulations specify a common

reporting format for group of activity level statements. This

may mean a separate regulation for territorial authorities

and regional councils.

OPPOSE Council is concerned that little or

no consideration has been given

for Unitary Authorities.

Balanced Budget

23. That section 100 of the Act be repealed due to its unnecessary

duplication of aspects of the test of financial prudence.

OPPOSE

Section 100 provides clarity

around what Council should

have regard for when

considering budgets and rates. It

ensures that Council has a long

term focus and promotes

financially sustainability.

24. That a statement covering observance of the balanced

budget requirement be removed from the long-term plan.

OPPOSE

The statement concerning

balanced budget is useful as it

highlights decisions to not balance

a budget i.e. run a deficit, fund

operations through a reserve, not

fund depreciation etc.

Reserves Disclosure

25. That disclosures around reserves be removed from the long-

term plan. OPPOSE

In the interests of transparency

Council considers that this

disclosure should be retained.

Annual Plan - Purpose

26. That section 95(5) be amended to better reflect the real

purpose of an annual plan. SUPPORT

Consultation on Annual Plans

27. That requirements to consult on an annual plan be

removed except where the annual plan is used as a

vehicle for amendments to the LTP or where there is a

significant variation from an LTP.

SUPPORT

28. That a new provision be added to the Act clarifying that

the purpose of a summary annual plan is to provide the

public with a summary of the intended financial and non-

financial performance for the year.

SUPPORT

Content of an Annual Plan

29. That the required contents of an annual plan be amended

to reflect the amendments made in recommendations 6.

to 25. above

SUPPORT

Annual Reports

30. That disclosures around internal borrowing be removed

from the annual report.

31. That the required contents of an annual report be

amended in line with recommendations 6. to 25. above.

32. That the sector prepares further good practice guidance

on the preparation and use of annual report summaries to

communicate local authority performance.

SUPPORT

The Pre-Election Report

33. That requirements to prepare a PER be retained in the Act,

but that these be reviewed for effectiveness as part of the

Select Committee Inquiry into the 2013 local elections.

SUPPORT

Council questions the value of

this requirement to prepare a

PER.

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Recommendation Council Position Comments

34. That the disclosure options currently afforded to those local

authorities with populations of 20,000 or less be extended to

all local authorities (i.e. that their Pre-Election Reports can

use financial data from the annual plan for the financial

year preceding local authority elections).

SUPPORT

35. That the requirement to publish funding impact statements

in the Pre-Election Reports be repealed, and replaced with

a requirements to publish PBE compliant Income and

Expenditure statements.

SUPPORT

36. That LGNZ and SOLGM negotiate a recommended

protocol or process through which Chief Executives can

prepare and authorise the Pre-Election Report and inform

their elected members.

SUPPORT