AGENDA
Ordinary meeting of the
Governance Committee
Thursday 5 November 2015
Commencing at 9.00am
Council Chamber
Civic House
110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
Membership: Councillor Ian Barker (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor Rachel Reese, Councillors Luke Acland (Deputy Chairperson), Eric Davy, Kate Fulton, Paul Matheson, Brian McGurk, Gaile Noonan and Pete Rainey, Mr John Murray and Mr John Peters
Guidelines for councillors attending the meeting, who are not members of the Committee, as set out in Standing Orders:
· All councillors, whether or not they are members of the Committee, may attend Committee meetings (SO 2.12.2)
· At the discretion of the Chair, councillors who are not Committee members may speak, or ask questions about a matter.
· Only Committee members may vote on any matter before the Committee (SO 3.14.1)
It is good practice for both Committee members and non-Committee members to declare any interests in items on the agenda. They should withdraw from the room for discussion and voting on any of these items.
Governance Committee
5 November 2015
Nil
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
3.1 Updates to the Interests Register
3.2 Identify any conflicts of interest in the agenda
Document number M1503
Recommendation
THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Committee, held on 1 October 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record.
7. Review of Nelson City Council's Policy for Appointing Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations 17 - 26
Document number R4276
Recommendation
THAT the report Review of Nelson City Council's Policy for Appointing Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations (R4276) and its attachments (A1417327 and A284857) be received.
Recommendation to Council
THAT the reviewed and amended Nelson City Council Policy for the Appointment of Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations (A284857) be adopted.
8. Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference 27 - 33
Document number R4931
Recommendation
THAT the report Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference (R4931) and its attachment (A1437349) be received.
Recommendation to Council
THAT the Audit Risk and Finance Subcommittee draft Terms of Reference (A1437349) be adopted;
AND THAT the Delegations Register (A1183061) be updated to include a reference to the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference.
9. Service Level Reviews: Process, Criteria, Resourcing 34 - 43
Document number R5014
Recommendation
THAT the report Service Level Reviews: Process, Criteria, Resourcing (R5014) and its attachment (A1445250) be received.
Recommendation to Council
THAT approval is given for the proposed approach (as detailed in R5014) to review all applicable services in order to comply with the requirements of Section 17A of the Local Government Act 2002.
10. Commercial Subcommittee - 14 October 2015 44 - 46
Document number M1527
Recommendation
THAT the unconfirmed minutes of a meeting of the Commercial Subcommittee, held on 14 October 2015, be received.
11. Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee - 14 October 2015 47 - 51
Document number M1529
Recommendation
THAT the unconfirmed minutes of a meeting of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee, held on 14 October 2015, be received.
11.1 Draft Asset Disposal Policy
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council
THAT the Draft Asset Disposal Policy (A1412442) with amendments be approved;
AND THAT the Delegations Manual is updated to reflect the delegations in the Asset Disposal Policy.
Note: The amended Draft Asset Disposal Policy can be found on Google Drive for Councillors and is available on request to an Administration Adviser.
11.2 Draft Risk Management Framework
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council
THAT the Draft Risk Management Framework (A1431591) with amendments be approved.
Note: The amended Draft Risk Management Framework can be found on Google Drive for Councillors and is available on request to an Administration Adviser.
11.3 Corporate Report to 31 August 2015
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council
THAT $350,000 for the upgrade of the Civic House verandah be deferred until 2017/18;
AND THAT $200,000 for the upgrade of the Hunter Furniture roof be deferred until 2016/17.
Public Excluded Business
Recommendation
THAT the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.
The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
|
Item |
General subject of each matter to be considered |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter |
Particular interests protected (where applicable) |
|
1 |
Governance Committee Meeting Minutes - Public Excluded - 1 October 2015 |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities. · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations). · Section 7(2)(a) To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person. |
|
2 |
Nelmac Statement of Expectation 2016/17
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
|
3 |
Bishop Suter Trust Statement of Expectation 2016/17
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
|
4 |
Commercial Subcommittee Meeting - Public Excluded - 14 October 2015 These minutes contain a recommendation regarding land purchase in Stoke. |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(a) To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person. · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities. · Section 7(2)(j) To prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage. · Section 7(2)(b)(ii) To protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. |
13. Re-admittance of the public
Recommendation
THAT the public be re-admitted to the meeting.
Minutes of a meeting of the Governance Committee
Held in the Council Chamber, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Thursday 1 October 2015, commencing at 9.00am
Present: Councillor I Barker (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors L Acland (Deputy Chairperson), E Davy, K Fulton, P Matheson, B McGurk, and G Noonan, and Mr J Peters
In Attendance: Group Manager Community Services (C Ward), Group Manager Corporate Services (N Harrison), Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), Senior Strategic Adviser (N McDonald), Manager Communications (P Shattock), Manager Administration (P Langley), and Administration Adviser (S McLean)
Apologies: Councillor P Rainey and Mr John Murray for attendance, Councillor K Fulton for lateness
1. Apologies
|
Resolved GOV/2015/044 THAT apologies be received and accepted from Councillor Rainey and Mr Murray for attendance, and Councillor Fulton for lateness. Acland/Peters Carried |
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There was no change to the order of business.
3. Interests
There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.
4. Public Forum
There was no public forum.
5. Confirmation of Minutes
5.1 20 August 2015
Document number M1409, agenda pages 8 - 13 refer.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/045 THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Committee, held on 20 August 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. McGurk/Davy Carried |
Attendance: Councillor Matheson joined the meeting at 9.02am.
6. Chairperson's Report
The Chairperson provided an update on the Port Nelson Annual General Meeting, highlighting that the company was performing well.
The Chairperson spoke about the opening of the new headquarters for Nelmac.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/046 THAT the Chairperson’s Report be received. Barker/Noonan Carried |
7. Sister Cities Update October 2015
Document number R4930, agenda pages 14 - 18 refer.
Group Manager Community Services, Chris Ward, and Sister City Coordinator, Gail Collingwood, presented the report.
Attendance: Councillor Fulton joined the meeting at 9.08am.
Ms Collingwood highlighted the volunteer contribution to sister cities and emphasised that the sister city agreements sat with Council. Her Worship the Mayor thanked Ms Collingwood and the volunteers for their service to sister cities relationships.
There was discussion on lower level relationships with other cities as Council was at capacity in terms of sister city level relationships.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/047 THAT the report Sister Cities Update October 2015 (R4930) and its attachment (A1433825) be received. Noonan/Davy Carried |
8. Service Level Reviews Under Section 17A Local Government Act
Document number R4443, agenda pages 19 - 23 refer.
Senior Strategic Adviser, Nicky McDonald, and Policy Adviser, Susan Moore-Lavo, presented the report.
There was discussion on how contracts would be considered in the review and the level of ‘business as usual’ review currently undertaken in terms of contract renewal.
Questions were asked about timing of reporting the review back to the Committee, how comprehensive the review would be, what criteria would be set to determine if a review was needed, and what the resourcing implications would be. Concern was raised that Council would not be involved in determining which activities would be reviewed.
It was suggested that set criteria be used to assess activities, including a cut-off level in terms of cost of the service. It was also pointed out that officer assumptions on the need to review or not review activities should be tested.
Attendance: The meeting adjourned from 9.58am to 10.03am.
In response to a question about reviewing Council Controlled Organisation activities, Ms McDonald advised that further assessment on this matter was required.
It was asked that officers further assess legislation, costs, resources, criteria, breadth and governance oversight of the review.
It was pointed out that a level of service could not be amended until a contract was up for renewal.
Attendance: Councillor Acland left the meeting at 10.12am.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/048 THAT the report Service Level Reviews Under Section 17A Local Government Act (R4443) be received. McGurk/Matheson Carried |
|
Recommendation to Council GOV/2015/049 THAT approval is given for officers to prepare scope of work and resourcing needed for service level review to comply with the requirements of Section 17A of the Local Government Act 2002; AND THAT officers prepare a draft criteria of factors to be considered to determine if a service level review of an activity or contract is to be implemented; AND THAT these matters are reported back to the Governance Committee; AND THAT the Governance Committee maintains oversight of service level reviews. McGurk/Matheson Carried |
9. Economic Development Services Contract with Tasman District Council
Document number R4588, agenda pages 24 - 33 refer.
Group Manager Community Services, Chris Ward, presented the report.
It was agreed that due to the need to discuss negotiations on the matter, it would be moved to the public excluded part of the meeting.
REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES
10. Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee - 10 September 2015
Document number M1459, agenda pages 34 - 39 refer.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/050 THAT the unconfirmed minutes of a meeting of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee, held on 10 September 2015, be received. Peters/McGurk Carried |
10.1 Carry Forwards from 2014/15
|
Recommendation to Council GOV/2015/051 THAT $4,233,000 of unspent capital budget from 2014/15 be carried forward for use in 2015/16; AND THAT $403,000 of capital spent in 2014/15 be offset against 2015/16 budgets; AND THAT an amount of $107,000 operating budget be carried forward for use in 2015/16. Peters/McGurk |
10.2 Draft Internal Audit Charter
|
Recommendation to Council GOV/2015/052 THAT the Draft Internal Audit Charter (A1395134) as amended as per the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee minutes 10 September 2015 be approved. Peters/McGurk |
11. Commercial Subcommittee - 10 September 2015
Document number M1460, agenda pages 40 - 42 refer.
|
Resolved GOV/2015/053 THAT the unconfirmed minutes of a meeting of the Commercial Subcommittee, held on 10 September 2015, be received. Peters/Noonan Carried |
12. Exclusion of the Public
|
Resolved GOV/2015/054 THAT the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting. The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows: Peters/Noonan Carried |
|
Item |
General subject of each matter to be considered |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter |
Particular interests protected (where applicable) |
|
1 |
Governance Committee Meeting Minutes - Public Excluded - 20 August 2015 |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations). · Section 7(2)(a) To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person. · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities. |
|
2 |
Status Report - Governance Committee - October 2015
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities |
|
3 |
Akersten Street Land Purchase
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
|
4 |
City of Nelson Civic Trust - New Trustee
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(a) To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person |
|
5 |
Bishop Suter Trust - Trustee rotation and remuneration
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(a) To protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of a deceased person |
|
6 |
Commercial Subcommittee Meeting Minutes - Public Excluded - 10 September 2015 These minutes contain a recommendation regarding: · Property Asset Review – 3 Precincts Workshop – terms of reference |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities. |
|
7 |
Economic Development Services Contract with Tasman District Council |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(i) To enable the local authority to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) |
The meeting went into public excluded session at 10.32am and resumed in public session at 12.42pm, during which time Councillor Acland returned to the meeting.
13. Re-admittance of the Public
|
Resolved GOV/2015/055 THAT the public be re-admitted to the meeting. Acland/McGurk Carried |
There being no further business the meeting ended at 12.42pm.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date
|
|
Governance Committee 5 November 2015 |
REPORT R4276
Review of Nelson City Council's Policy for Appointing Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To consider the reviewed and amended Policy for the Appointment of Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations (the Policy), and recommend its adoption to Council.
2. Delegations
2.1 The Governance Committee has an area of responsibility for all matters associated with Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations, including the appointment of directors. The Governance Committee has the power to recommend to Council the review of policies relating to areas of responsibility.
3. Recommendation
Recommendation to Council
4. Background
4.1 The Policy covers the appointment and re-appointment process for directors/trustees of organisations such as Nelmac Ltd, the Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency, Nelson Tasman Tourism, City of Nelson Civic Trust and the Bishop Suter Trust.
4.2 The Policy was most recently received and amended by Council on 15 December 2011 to ensure consistency with the reviewed Joint Appointment of Directors and Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) and Council Controlled Trading Organisations (CCTOs) Policy.
4.3 The Policy was scheduled for review in November 2014.
4.4 It is envisaged the review of Economic Development Services will not impact the content of this Policy, or require further amendments, although any new CCO established will be covered by this policy.
4.5 The Joint Appointment of CCOs and CCTOs Policy will be reviewed and presented to the Joint Shareholders Committee on 20 November 2015, to ensure consistency between the two policies.
5. Discussion
5.1 The proposed amendments to the Policy are listed below. Further detail and explanation can be found in Attachment 1, and the revised policy is shown as Attachment 2.
· Corrections to officer titles and dates throughout the Policy
· Clause 1.1: Removed reference to Port Nelson Limited (covered in the Joint Appointment of CCOs and CCTOs Policy)
· Clause 3.1: Replaced ‘gender balance’ with ‘diversity’
· Clause 3.3.5: Changed ‘company’ to ‘company/trust’, and replaced ‘business area’ with ‘activities’
· Clause 4.1: Removed reference to Remuneration Review Committee, replaced with ‘the Mayor and Chairperson of the Governance Committee’
· Clause 4.1.1 and 5.2.1: Added detail on assessing if the appointment is necessary
· Clause 6: Included reference to the Procedure for setting remuneration for Directors of Nelson City Council Council Controlled Trading Organisations
· Clause 7.1: Removed reference to ‘while a vacancy is filled’
· Clause 8.2 (new): Added detail on varying procedures in the policy as necessary
6. Options
6.1 Endorse the Policy as reviewed and amended, and recommend its adoption to Council. This is the preferred option.
6.2 The Committee may choose to amend the Policy further before recommending its adoption to Council.
6.3 The Committee could choose not to accept the proposed changes to the Policy and leave it in its current state. This would result in a less flexible and effective Policy.
7. Alignment with relevant Council policy
7.1 This recommendation is not inconsistent with any other Council policy or decision.
8. Assessment of Significance against the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy
8.1 This decision is not significant under Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy, therefore no community engagement is required.
9. Consultation
9.1 No consultation has taken place on this matter.
10. Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process
10.1 Maori have not been consulted on this matter.
11. Conclusion
11.1 The reviewed and amended Policy for Appointment of Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations should be considered by the Governance Committee before being recommended to Council for adoption.
Chris Ward
Group Manager Community Services
Attachments
Attachment 1: A1417327 - Table of Amendments to the Policy for Apointment of Directors/Trustees of CCOs and CCTOS
Attachment 2: A284857 - Revised Procedure for Appointment of Directors/Trustees of Council Controlled Organisations and Council Controlled Trading Organisations
|
|
Governance Committee 5 November 2015 |
REPORT R4931
Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To adopt Terms of Reference for the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
2. Delegations
2.1 The Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee has been delegated areas of responsibility by the Governance Committee. The Governance Committee has the powers to recommend to Council any other matters.
3. Recommendation
|
THAT the report Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference (R4931) and its attachment (A1437349) be received. |
Recommendation to Council
4. Background
4.1 At a meeting of Council on 12 February 2015 the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee was set up through the Mayor’s Report.
4.2 Also at this Council meeting, Council resolved that the Governance Committee meeting 3 March 2015 confirm the appointment of the chairperson and the draft delegations for the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
4.3 At that meeting the Governance Committee appointed the chairperson and approved the draft delegations for the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
5. Discussion
5.1 The Chairperson of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee has requested that Terms of Reference be adopted for this Subcommittee.
5.2 Terms of Reference for subcommittees at Council is not usual practice.
5.3 The Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference collates information from the Local Government Act 2002, Local Government Information and Meetings Act 1987, Local Government New Zealand Audit and Risk Management Guide, Council’s Delegations Register, Standing Orders, Elected Members Code of Conduct and reports written for the establishment of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
5.4 The Terms of Reference elaborate on this collated information as well as providing additional information.
5.5 The Governance Committee should be sure that the additional information is clear within the Terms of Reference and aligns with the level of authority initially intended to be delegated to the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
5.6 Should the Terms of Reference be recommended for adoption, the Delegations Register should be amended to include reference to them.
5.7 It is proposed the following words are inserted into the Audit, Risk and Finance delegations. ‘For the Terms of Reference for the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee please refer to document A1437349’.
5.8 Terms of Reference for the Commercial Subcommittee are not proposed.
6. Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
6.1 Due to the new Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, Council on 19 November 2015 will be considering the approval of a draft Health and Safety Management System Governance Charter.
6.2 Under the new Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, elected members and Senior Leadership Team will be classed as “officers” under the new Act and will therefore have a duty of due diligence.
6.3 Health and Safety is therefore considered to be a matter for full Council rather than the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee.
6.4 Due to Health and Safety being a matter for full Council reference to Health and Safety in the areas of responsibility have been removed from the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference.
6.5 Removal of Health and Safety within the areas of responsibility in the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee delegations will be considered at Council on 19 November 2015.
7. Options
7.1 Council can choose to adopt or not to adopt the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference.
8. Alignment with relevant Council policy
8.1 This matter is not in contradiction to any Council policy or strategic document except for the Health and Safety points described above.
9. Assessment of Significance against the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy
9.1 This decision is not considered to be significant in terms of Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.
10. Consultation
10.1 No consultation has been undertaken on this matter.
11. Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process
11.1 No consultation with Maori has been undertaken on this matter.
Gayle Brown
Administration Adviser
Attachments
Attachment 1: A1437349 - draft Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee Terms of Reference 5 Nov 2015
|
|
Governance Committee 5 November 2015 |
REPORT R5014
Service Level Reviews: Process, Criteria, Resourcing
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To approve a process for carrying out service level reviews as required by the Local Government Act 2002.
2. Delegations
2.1 The Governance Committee has delegated responsibility for a number of matters relating to the review of Council services, including powers to recommend decisions on the financial and service performance of Council and reviews of specific activity areas within Council.
3. Recommendation
|
THAT the report Service Level Reviews: Process, Criteria, Resourcing (R5014) and its attachment (A1445250) be received. |
Recommendation to Council
|
THAT approval is given for the proposed approach (as detailed in R5014) to review all applicable services in order to comply with the requirements of Section 17A of the Local Government Act 2002. |
4. Background
4.1 Recent changes to the Local Government Act 2002 introduced a new requirement to review the governance, funding and delivery of all Council services, including contracts, by 7 August 2017. The reviews are to consider a range of delivery methods including by a council controlled organisation, another local authority or another party.
4.2 The Committee, in considering this workstream at its 1 October 2015 meeting, had a number of questions around the resources required to carry out this work and the most appropriate criteria for determining whether, on cost-benefit grounds, a review should not be undertaken. It was also interested in reviewing the services that officers intended to discuss with Tasman District Council as potential for shared services or other collaboration.
4.3 The Committee resolved:
THAT approval is given for officers to prepare scope of work and resourcing needed for service level review to comply with the requirements of Section 17A of the Local Government Act 2002;
AND THAT officers prepare a draft criteria of factors to be considered to determine if a service level review of an activity or contract is to be implemented;
AND THAT these matters are reported back to the Governance Committee;
AND THAT the Governance Committee maintains oversight of service level reviews.
5. Discussion
5.1 Officers have prepared a table (Attachment 1) which lists all the services to be reviewed and gives an initial assessment as to the likely scale of review and the resourcing required. This is very much a first cut and the level of effort will be better gauged once some service reviews have been undertaken.
5.2 The table shows how services have been assembled into larger groupings to reduce the number of reviews required. It has attempted to show which reviews will require more than a quick assessment of existing information and this extra effort may be due to the potential delivery options to be considered, the level of public interest in the issue, or changes in central government approach or legislation. The table also gives some indication of the resource required with some services potentially requiring input from external expertise.
5.3 It should be noted that since the legislation came into force, officers have been taking the Section 17A requirements into account as contracts expired or services were changed. Section 17A consideration has already been included in some matters that have come before Council, often for public excluded discussions as they relate to contracts or commercial matters. The process described in this report considers how to formalise this process and review the entirety of Council’s work programme over the next two years.
Working with other councils
5.4 In requiring service level reviews by all councils, central government was mindful of the work of the Local Government Efficiency Taskforce and the Local Government Infrastructure Expert Advisory Group. Both noted that although there are a number of successful joint and shared service arrangements between councils, there appeared to be significant unrealised potential for efficiency and effectiveness gains through greater use of such agreements, joint contracting and similar arrangements.
5.5 Given the intent of the legislation to focus attention on cooperation between councils, it is proposed that discussions be held with Tasman District Council (and other councils as appropriate), as to the potential for shared services, joint contracts and other collaboration. It may be that joint reviews of services would be appropriate in some cases. Officers propose to explore opportunities but would seek guidance from the Governance Committee before beginning any joint work.
CCOs/CCTOs
5.6 A question was raised at the October Governance Committee meeting about whether the contracts and other arrangements for service delivery of Council controlled organisations (CCOs) and Council controlled trading organisations (CCTOs) were covered by the Act’s requirements. The legislation is unfortunately not clear on this point. Advice has been sought from the Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) and the initial comment was that once a council externalises a service through a CCO or CCTO it would seem reasonable that how that agency chooses to acquire the service is not part of a Section 17A review. Legal advice will be sought on this point but it is not expected that any review of contracts entered into by CCOs/CCTOs will be undertaken.
Criteria
5.7 The legislation allows councils to not undertake reviews if it is judged that the potential benefits do not justify the costs (or if the current delivery cannot reasonably be changed over the next two years). For services that are not contracted it is difficult to apply any set criteria for not undertaking a review. What has been suggested by SOLGM and the firm providing advice to officers on this process, Thomas Consulting, is that desktop reviews be undertaken for these services and only those where there are realistic alternative options for delivery be explored more fully. Officer would use the SOLGM provided template to guide this work. Once these desktop reviews have been completed and documented the process for the subsequent six yearly reviews could be to accept the existing assessment unless there has been a change likely to affect provision of the service.
5.8 As contracts all have a value attached, it is easier to consider cost/benefit in assessing them. It is proposed that where a contract for service is less than $100,000 per year that no review be undertaken as the benefit is unlikely to outweigh the cost of undertaking a detailed analysis. The cut off of $100,000 fits with Council’s Procurement Policy which does not require publicly advertised tenders for purchases under $100,000.
5.9 Council does not have a comprehensive contracts register at present but work is underway to develop one. This will be a useful tool for service level reviews.
6. Options
6.1 The Committee can approve the approach outlined in this report, noting that Council will be able to monitor progress to completion of the reviews through update reports to the relevant Committees, or it can amend the approach.
7. Alignment with relevant Council policy
7.1 The service review process aligns with Council’s due diligence obligations and regular reviews of contract performance that are a part of business as usual. This work also contributes to achieving Council’s community outcomes and Nelson 2060 goals in the most cost-effective manner.
7.2 The level of extra resource required, including external expertise, will only be properly quantified after more work is undertaken. Where possible work will be carried out within existing budgets but where contractors are required it is likely that additional funding will be required. As the work stretches over two years some of these adjustments could be made through the Annual Plan process. Where reviews of Council services are already planned or underway, the section 17A will be incorporated as part of that project.
8. Assessment of Significance against the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy
8.1 This decision is not significant in terms of Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. However any decisions to change the manner of delivery of services could potentially trigger a need to consult the public.
9. Consultation
9.1 No consultation has been undertaken as this work is a statutory requirement.
10. Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process
10.1 Maori have not been consulted on this project.
11. Conclusion
11.1 Council has a statutory requirement to undertake service level reviews across all its activities. This report outlines the approach proposed and an early estimate of resourcing.
Nicky McDonald
Senior Strategic Adviser
Attachments
Minutes of a meeting of the Commercial Subcommittee
Held in Ruma Mārama, Level 2A, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Wednesday 14 October 2015, commencing at 9.04am
Present: Mr J Murray (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors L Acland and G Noonan, and Mr J Peters
In Attendance: Councillors B McGurk, I Barker, and P Matheson, Chief Executive (C Hadley), Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), Group Manager Corporate Services (N Harrison), and Administration Adviser (G Brown)
Apology: Councillor Noonan for lateness
1. Apology
|
Resolved COM/2015/021 THAT an apology be received and accepted from Councillor Noonan for lateness. Murray/Acland Carried |
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There was no change to the order of business.
3. Interests
There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.
4. Public Forum
There was no public forum.
5. Confirmation of Minutes
5.1 10 September 2015
Document number M1460, agenda pages 5 - 7 refer.
Attendance: Councillor Noonan joined the meeting at 9.06am.
|
Resolved COM/2015/022 THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Commercial Subcommittee, held on 10 September 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. Noonan/Murray Carried |
6. Chairperson's Report
There was no Chairperson’s Report.
|
Resolved COM/2015/023 THAT the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting. The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows: Noonan/Acland Carried |
|
Item |
General subject of each matter to be considered |
Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter |
Particular interests protected (where applicable) |
|
1 |
Commercial Subcommittee Meeting Minutes- Public Excluded - 10 September 2015 |
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7. |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities. |
|
2 |
Property Asset Review - Three Precincts Workshop Terms of Reference
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(h) To enable the local authority to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities · Section 7(2)(j) To prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage |
|
3 |
Stoke Strategic Land Purchase
|
Section 48(1)(a) The public conduct of this matter would be likely to result in disclosure of information for which good reason exists under section 7 |
The withholding of the information is necessary: · Section 7(2)(b)(ii) To protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information |
The meeting went into public excluded session at 9.07am and resumed in public session at 9.36am.
8. Re-admittance of the Public
|
Resolved COM/2015/024 THAT the public be re-admitted to the meeting. Acland/Peters Carried |
There being no further business the meeting ended at 9.36pm.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date
Minutes of a meeting of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee
Held in Ruma Mārama, Level 2A, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson
On Wednesday 14 October 2015, commencing at 9.42am
Present: Mr J Peters (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors I Barker and B McGurk, and Mr J Murray
In Attendance: Councillors L Acland, P Matheson, and G Noonan, Chief Executive (C Hadley), Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), Group Manager Corporate Services (N Harrison), and Administration Adviser (G Brown)
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Confirmation of Order of Business
There was no change to the order of business.
3. Interests
There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.
4. Public Forum
Mr Kerry Neal read from tabled document A1444695 regarding Trafalgar Centre financing.
|
Attachments 1 A1444695 - Tabled Document - Kerry Neal - Trafalgar Centre Financing |
5. Confirmation of Minutes
5.1 10 September 2015
Document number M1459, agenda pages 6 - 11 refer.
|
Resolved AUD/2015/041 THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee, held on 10 September 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. Murray/Barker Carried |
6. Status Report - Status Report - 14 October 2015
Document number R4982, agenda pages 12 - 13 refer.
|
Resolved AUD/2015/042 THAT the Status Report Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee 14 October 2015 (R4982) and its attachment (A1324298) be received. Barker/McGurk Carried |
7. Chairperson's Report
The Chairperson said it was pleasing to see progress made in relation to new policies and the risk management framework which the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee would be receiving at today’s meeting.
8. Draft Asset Disposal Policy
Document number R4823, agenda pages 14 - 19 refer.
Group Manager Corporate Services, Nikki Harrison, presented the report.
There was agreement that the following changes would be incorporated in the draft Asset Disposal Policy:
· Clause 4.1 remove the term ‘real property’ and add ‘and property’ after the word Land
· Clause 7.1, remove ‘a’ and replace with ‘the’ third tier manager
· Add to clause 8.1 evidence and documents will be kept on file in relation to the statement ‘examples of like items’
· Clause 8.2 reword ‘items being disposed of on one day’
· Clause 8.6 broaden the definition of technology to include other confidential information
It was suggested that the removal of confidential information should be covered in a broad overarching policy.
There was a discussion around what triggers the disposal of an asset. The Chief Executive, Clare Hadley advised there were processes in place for the disposal of assets and that a disposal was approved at a senior level. She added that officers had input to whether the asset required disposal.
|
Resolved AUD/2015/043 THAT the report Draft Asset Disposal Policy (R4823) and its attachment (A1412442) be received. Barker/McGurk Carried |
|
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council AUD/2015/044 THAT the Draft Asset Disposal Policy (A1412442) with amendments be approved; AND THAT the Delegations Manual is updated to reflect the delegations in the Asset Disposal Policy. Barker/McGurk Carried |
9. Draft Risk Management Framework
Document number R4887, agenda pages 20 - 35 refer.
Group Manager Corporate Services, Nikki Harrison, presented the report.
There was agreement that the following changes would be incorporated into the draft Risk Management Framework:
· Section 6, add to 6.1 ‘The role of the Senior Leadership Team is to report to the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee as set out below and in Table 1’
· Clause 9.3.2 add ‘including an environmental scan’
Attendance: Her Worship the Mayor left the meeting from 10.21am to 10.23am.
|
Resolved AUD/2015/045 THAT the report Draft Risk Management Framework (R4887) and its attachment (A1431591) be received. Peters/Barker Carried |
|
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council AUD/2015/046 THAT the Draft Risk Management Framework (A1431591) with amendments be approved. Peters/Barker Carried |
10. Corporate Report to 31 August 2015
Document number R4939, agenda pages 36 - 52 refer.
Group Manager Corporate Services, Nikki Harrison, presented the report.
In response to a question, Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, advised the projects included under the Parks and Active Recreation activity in attachment 3 included retaining walls, dredging and the Trafalgar Centre.
In response to a question, the Chief Executive, Clare Hadley referred to the Trafalgar Centre Reopening project in attachment 5, and explained the expenditure of $644,000 was in relation to early project work and this was written off on advice from Audit New Zealand. This was not included in the current budget.
Mrs Hadley said the $667,000 additional expenditure for the Trafalgar Centre was incorrectly recorded in the Consulting Engineer, Richard Kirby’s, report to Council on 3 September 2015, but he verbally corrected this at the meeting.
It was agreed that the Audit, Risk and Finance Subcommittee was satisfied the increase in expenditure for the Trafalgar Centre was appropriately considered against the Significant and Engagement Policy and followed due process.
In response to a further question, Mrs Hadley advised the Rutherford Park development was not included as part of the Trafalgar Centre budget.
There was a discussion regarding further road closures in relation to the Brook Area Cycling and Walking Improvements. Mr Louverdis advised that any further road closures would be managed in discussion with the Communications Team, the residents and other stakeholder groups.
|
Resolved AUD/2015/047 THAT the report Corporate Report to 31 August 2015 (R4939) and its attachments (A1422506, A1432835, A793514, and A1436178) be received and the variations noted. Murray/McGurk Carried |
|
Recommendation to Governance Committee and Council AUD/2015/048 THAT $350,000 for the upgrade of the Civic House verandah be deferred until 2017/18; AND THAT $200,000 for the upgrade of the Hunter Furniture roof be deferred until 2016/17. Murray/Barker Carried |
There being no further business the meeting ended at 11.15am.
Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:
Chairperson
Date
