All FAQs

Local boards will also have a say, and ratepayers will be able to make their views known.

Auckland Council will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing standards for water quality.

A new unified rating system will be developed as part of a new planning and budgeting cycle from 2012.

An organisation that is owned or closely controlled by a council, in future by Auckland Council.

Until the new Council is in place existing councils will keep their present rating powers.

Rating policy will be determined by the new structures; it will be up to the new Auckland Council to consult and decide on rates and inform ratepayers.

The Auckland Council will adopt a uniform rating system for the Auckland region to meet city-wide and local funding needs. This means ratepayers will receive one rates bill.

The Auckland Council will be responsible for the implementation of the Local Government Act 2002. The planning and outcomes provisions of this Act do not form part of the Government’s decision-making on Auckland governance, but the Government is separately reviewing the LTCCP and community outcomes processes. It is intended that any changes resulting from this review should apply to all councils, including Auckland, unless there are sound reasons for them not to.

The development of 2009-19 LTCCPs for the current Auckland councils will continue and citizens should continue to make submissions if they wish. The Auckland Council will develop its first LTCCP under the new process in 2012 (assuming that the three year LTCCP cycle is retained).

The delivery of community services will be the responsibility of the new Auckland Council, but it is expected local boards will be closely involved in developing, proposing and advocating on the nature and type of services to be provided within their areas.

Local Boards will have prescribed roles and functions, but will not replicate the service delivery structures that will be managed by the Auckland Council.

They will have more powers than the current community boards in Auckland, but will not be able to raise their own revenue or hire staff.

They will advocate for their local community and have input into the Auckland Council’s plans.

They will develop local operational policies for local issues, for example dog control, liquor licensing and graffiti control.

Waiheke and Great Barrier will have their own Local Boards because they are geographically isolated and have their own distinctive needs.

Proposals for a cap on rates increases are a matter for separate consideration by the government. The Minister has indicated his enthusiasm for giving voters across the country the ability to decide on limits to rate increases.

It’s a new model. There is no regional council (as there was pre-1989), the Mayor has new governance powers, and the local boards are a new type of local body with legally defined powers.

Local boards will not be able to raise their own revenue. They will, however, be able to seek increases in levels of service or other expenditure by the Auckland Council in their local areas. This would need to be negotiated with the Auckland Council, and may result in a targeted rate being set by the Auckland Council in respect of the additional services.

The Government’s decision recognises there is already provision in the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Electoral Act 2001 for specific recognition of the position of Māori.

Auckland Council will be responsible for consents processes; it is expected that a single process for each type of consent will apply across the entire city. The physical location of council services will be decided by the Auckland Council.

Consolidating all local government transport functions into a single organisation is one of the tasks of the ATA. This will improve both the pace and quality of transport decision-making in Auckland and ensure funding can be directed where it is most needed. One organisation will now be able to set clear priorities for local transport across Auckland and be held accountable for delivering them.

The Auckland Council will have all the responsibilities of the existing councils, but will be better able to coordinate and respond to issues across the region. Priorities will be set by the Auckland Council, which will have the advantage of being able to deal directly with all ecosystems now crossing local boundaries.

It will be up to the Auckland Council to establish the service centres, and the facilities and staffing needed, for the centres and for local boards. It will not be necessary in all cases to co-locate a local board with an operations centre, because the local boards do not directly control operations.

All council organisations will be reviewed as part of the transition process. There’s particular focus on water services, transportation, and the waterfront area of the CBD, including the ports of Auckland.

The government called for submission to the Select Committee which will look at these issues. Submissions closed on June 26. The Select Committee will begin its deliberations in July, and a further Bill with recommendations will go before Parliament once its deliberations are complete.

The ATA will be responsible for designing and establishing the new structures. For more information on staffing issues, please go to the Auckland Transition Agency section of FAQs.

There has been no discussion about this issue as a part of the change in Auckland governance – these issues will be dealt with by the new Auckland Council, with input from local boards to which residents will have ready access to.

Under the Local Electoral Act, all councils, including the new Auckland Council, have the power to decide to have specific Māori seats and the voters, by referendum, are able to require this of the council, or to change a council decision on the matter.

Under the Local Government Act, there must be consideration given to Māori views (no other specific group is given the status accorded the tangata whenua). Also, councils are required to take the steps to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to decision-making processes including fostering ways of developing Māori capacity to contribute to decision-making processes.

The Government decided that the six local councils proposed by the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance were too large to provide for effective local representation. There was confused accountability between the councils and the Auckland Council and the functions were not well-allocated between the two layers of governance.

Decisions on the number and functions of Local Boards this will be made by the Select Committee, and written into legislation later this year.

The Local Boards will feed the views of their local communities into the councillors on the Auckland Council.

They will advocate for their local community and have input into the Auckland Council’s plans.

Auckland Council will be responsible for delivery of services across the region (transport, water, waste, etc).

Water and wastewater services will be provided by one entity, which will be run as a council-controlled organisation. (Unless you live in Papakura, where United Water will continue to deliver this service). This means it will have its own expert board of directors but will be closely controlled by Auckland Council.

The Auckland Council will develop its first LTCCP under the new process in 2012 (assuming that the three year LTCCP cycle is retained). The Auckland Council's new, single LTCCP in 2012 will be important in defining the future path.

The total number of positions needed in the new structures will not be known until the ATA has determined the functions to be delivered and the supporting organisational structures.

The ATA is charged with overseeing and organising the amalgamation of all seven territorial authorities and one regional council in Auckland by October 2010. This will involve reviewing the functions and operations of all council organisations, trusts and assets which are owned by councils. It also includes reviewing water services and transportation in the region.

It is expected that any organisation with representation from an existing council will continue with representation from the Auckland Council, which may act with local boards in deciding this.

At the local body elections in 2010, councillors and a mayor for a new Auckland Council will be elected. The current seven territorial authorities (Rodney District Council, North Shore City Council, Auckland City Council, Waitakere City Council, Manukau City Council, Papakura District Council and Franklin District Council) and one regional council (Auckland Regional Council) will be dissolved at that time. The Auckland Council will begin its work in November 2010.

Yes. Auckland Council and local board meetings will be open to the public, to whom councillors and board members are accountable.

It depends what aspect of services is referred to. Rubbish collection and water supply will be uninterrupted. Libraries will stay as they are. It is expected that planning regulations and systems will be streamlined and made more efficient. The location of service offices may change. Various regional strategies and policies that previously lacked a mandate or funding will be able to be implemented.

Exactly how the transition from existing councils to the new arrangements will be managed will be determined by the ATA over the next year. Proceses will be developed to guide how the transition for staff will be managed.

Communities and citizens will have influence on Auckland Council in the following ways: the mayor, elected at large, will have to have regard to public opinion, and will be subject to much greater scrutiny by media than any existing mayor. The same scrutiny will apply to both the eight councillors elected at large, and the 12 ward councillors. Auckland Council and local board meetings will be open to the public, to whom councillors and board members are accountable. Formal consultation processes for the Auckland Council will continue as required by the Local Government Act 2002. Elections will continue to be held every three years rather than every four years, as recommended by the Royal Commission. For more information on the structure of the Auckland Council, please go to the Auckland Council tab of the website.

Yes, staff will be consulted before the new design is finalised.

Where a council has given a formal commitment (of a type which would be enforceable in law) to a community or individual, this commitment will continue to be enforceable under the new structures. Where a commitment is not of a type enforceable by law, Auckland Council will be accountable to its communities for acting in a responsible and honourable way.

As a general principle, all current assets and liabilities will be transferred to the new Auckland Council and decisions about current assets will be the responsibility of the Council.

All council organisations will be reviewed as part of the transition process. There’s particular focus on water services, transportation, and the waterfront area of the CBD, including the ports of Auckland.