159 21 February 2017
27 January 2017
File: (17/84)
Report no: CPC2017/1/46
Proposed Annual Plan 2017-2018 and Consultation Document
Purpose of Report
1. The purpose of this report is to seek guidance on the content of the Consultation Document and adoption of the information that underlies the proposed Annual Plan 2017-2018.
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Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: (i) provides guidance on the content of the Consultation Document; (ii) receives the non-financial information that underlies the proposed Annual Plan 2017-2018 (attached as Appendices 1 and 2 to the report); (iii) recommends that Council adopt the underlying information for the proposed Annual Plan 2017-2018, including financial information that reflects decisions made on the Draft Budget 2017/18; (iv) recommends that Council appoint a subcommittee to provide ongoing guidance on the Consultation Document and Questionnaire to allow this to be submitted for typesetting in early March; and (v) notes that a meeting of Council is scheduled on 14 March 2017 for the purpose of adopting the typeset Consultation Document. |
Background
2. The Local Government Act 2002 (the Act) requires adoption of a long term plan every three years and an annual plan for each financial year. Our long term plan was adopted in 2015, with 2016 and 2017 being annual plan years, followed by another long term plan in 2018.
3. Section 95 of the Act requires the Annual Plan to contain the annual budget and funding impact statement for the year, and to identify any variation from the financial statements and funding impact statement included in the long term plan for the year to which it relates.
4. Section 95A of the Act requires that the Consultation Document for the Annual Plan identify any significant or material differences between the proposed Annual Plan and the content of the Long Term Plan for the financial year to which it relates. It must also explain these differences in a way that is readily understood by the public.
Discussion
5. The non-financial information that underlies the proposed Annual Plan is attached as Appendices 1 and 2 to the report. Changes to some fees and charges, new fees being introduced and changes to some performance measures are highlighted in the documents. Also highlighted is a proposal to consolidate some of the Leisure and Wellbeing Activities into one Integrated Community Services Activity (see below for further information).
6. Budget information, including forecast financial statements and lists of major projects planned, will be incorporated into the proposed Annual Plan following the Committee’s and Council’s decisions.
7. All information that makes up the proposed Annual Plan will be available on the Council website (huttcity.govt.nz) during the public consultation period, along with prospective income and funding requirements for each Activity, information on proposed rates for 2017-2018 and funding impact statements for each Group.
8. The timetable for the remainder of the annual plan process is outlined below:
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14 March |
CPC/Council meetings to approve typeset Consultation Document |
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28 March |
Public consultation begins with Consultation Document delivery in Hutt News |
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28 April |
Public consultation ends |
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16/17 May |
Hearing of submissions |
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8 June |
CPC/Council meetings to agree final changes to Annual Plan |
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29 June |
Council meeting to set the rates |
Topics for Consultation
9. The following items have been identified for inclusion in the Consultation Document, subject to the Committee’s decisions on 21 February:
a. Significant financial variations from Year 3 of the Long Term Plan 2015-2018: See separate reports.
b. Changes to Council’s Financial Strategy: See separate budget report.
c. Unbudgeted Projects: See separate budget report.
d. Options for Council-owned wharves: See separate report.
e. Review of remissions for development: See separate budget report and report to City Development Committee.
f. Seaview Treatment Plant resource consents: The resource consents which currently permit the occasional discharge of treated wastewater from the Seaview Treatment Plant to the Waiwhetu Stream expire early in 2018. Applications for new consents must be lodged with the Regional Council later this year. Wellington Water is exploring various options, including the status quo, as well as additional storage and/or treatment, and alternative discharge locations. Council has a budget allowance of $13m for works associated with this project. Short listed options currently range from $0 (status quo) to over $30m. Further work on analysing these options is ongoing, and Council received a detailed briefing on this issue on 14 February.
g. Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan: Each territorial authority in the region is consulting on the Regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan as part of the 2017-2018 annual plan process. See separate report.
h. Rates postponement scheme for residential ratepayers aged 65 and over: A question will be included in the Consultation Document Questionnaire to ascertain levels of support for the introduction of such a scheme. Following the consultation, a report will be prepared for a future meeting of the Finance and Performance Committee.
Built Heritage Incentive Fund
10. The Policy and Regulatory Committee at its meeting held on 5 September 2016 resolved to ask officers to report to the Community Plan Committee on the financial implications of the Building (Earthquake-Prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 on the Built Heritage Incentive Fund.
11. The Built Heritage Incentive Fund is currently allocated $50,000 per annum by Council. No single application can exceed $10,000 from this fund. Assistance from this fund has been used in the past to mainly support restoration work, along with some earthquake strengthening work. Also to provide some funding for capital work or consultancy fees for heritage reports or engineering reports.
12. Currently central government is calling for submissions on their proposals for a methodology to identify earthquake-prone buildings and the proposals for Regulations under the Building (Earthquake-Prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016. Until the government has determined the detail around these two matters, officers are unable to provide any advice to the Council on the financial implications.
Leisure and Wellbeing Activities
13. The Community Services Group continues to undergo significant change as it responds to the changing needs of our communities as well as Council priorities. Most notably Community Development efforts are now more integrated across the entire Group and increasingly more community services are being run out of Community Hubs, including core council services such as libraries, recreation and other services. The Group is also increasingly exploring opportunities for externally funded contracts that are aligned to Council’s vision and priorities, e.g. Healthy Families which is currently reported with the Aquatics and Recreation Activity.
14. As a result of these changes the current Activity structure is less relevant and less transparent to members of the public. Making meaningful comparisons of income and expenditure trends between accounting periods is difficult. The Group proposes to combine the current Libraries, Museums, Aquatics and Recreation, and Community Safety and Connections Activities into one new Activity – Integrated Community Services.
15. Below this consolidated Activity the Group proposes to report at a more detailed level the relevant financial (net cost) and non-financial information, i.e. report separately on Museums, Pools, Recreation Programmes, remaining stand-alone Libraries, Community Hubs, City Safety, Community Funding, significant contracts like Healthy Families etc. The alternative to this approach would be to create more Activities which, while possible, will also create greater levels of administrative compliance work and effort, e.g. overhead allocations.
Consultation
16. The Consultation Document will be subject to public consultation in accordance with section 82 of the Act which deals with the principles of consultation. Our proposed consultation process also meets the requirements for the Special Consultative Procedure. The consultation period will be from 28 March to 28 April.
17. Council has always made a considerable effort to publicise its plans and encourage comment from interested residents, ratepayers and other stakeholders. This year the Consultation Document will be published as an insert in the Hutt News on 28 March, and copies will be posted to rural ratepayers who may not receive the Hutt News.
18. The consultation framework will also include separate consultation with the seven Collective Marae, radio advertising, articles in Council publications, email newsletters to subscribers, an independent survey, a website link to access information and the ability to lodge submissions electronically, the use of other e-democracy tools such as Facebook where appropriate, meetings with special interest groups, any local meetings required to discuss issues unique to each area, and attendance at public events/places.
Legal Considerations
19. The Local Government Act 2002 prescribes the process to be followed in preparing an Annual Plan. Council is required to consider the consultation principles in section 82 of the Act and to fulfill all the specific requirements of sections 95 and 95A relating to the annual plan process.
20. Section 97 of the Act provides that certain proposed decisions can only be pursued if provided for in the Long Term Plan. These include decisions to alter significantly the intended level of service provision for any significant activity, and decisions to transfer ownership or control of a strategic asset to or from the local authority. Section 103(4) requires that any significant amendment proposed to a revenue and financing policy be included in a Long Term Plan. Any of these items would trigger the requirement for an amendment to the Long Term Plan 2015-2025. Officers are satisfied that the changes to be consulted on through the 2017-2018 annual plan process do not trigger an amendment to the Long Term Plan.
Financial Considerations
21. All work required as part of the annual plan process will be undertaken within current budgets.
Other Considerations
22. In making this recommendation, officers have given careful consideration to the purpose of local government in section 10 of the Local Government Act 2002. Officers believe that this recommendation falls within the purpose of local government in that conducting annual consultation provides the opportunity for members of the public to comment on the manner in which Council proposes to meet the current and future needs of the community. It does this in a way that is cost-effective, publishing information on the Council website and providing a high level overview of Council’s proposals for the future of the city to each residence and business.
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No. |
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Page |
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1View |
Performance Measures for each Group and Activity (Under Separate Cover) |
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2View |
Proposed Fees and Charges for 2017-2018 (Under Separate Cover) |
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Author: Joyanne Stevens
Corporate Planner
Reviewed By: Wendy Moore
Divisional Manager, Strategy and Planning
Approved By: Kim Kelly
General Manager, Strategic Services