22 27 February 2017
07 February 2017
File: (17/148)
Report no: PRC2017/1/47
Triennial Agreement
Purpose of Report
1. The purpose of this report is to endorse entry into the Triennial Agreement as required by the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA 2002).
|
Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee recommends that Council: (i) notes the draft agreement referred to in the report; (ii) approves entry into the Triennial Agreement (a draft of which is attached as Appendix 1 to the report); and (iii) authorises the Chief Executive to undertake any further negotiations to finalise the agreement and authorises the Mayor to execute the agreement on the Council’s behalf. |
Background
2. The LGA 2002 requires that a Triennial Agreement between all the local authorities of a region must be agreed by 1 March after each triennial general election. The latest version of the draft Triennial Agreement is attached as Appendix.
3. The Triennial Agreement must contain “protocols for communication and co-ordination” between the local authorities of each region (s15 of the LGA 2002). The protocols include principles of consultation, openness and transparency and ‘no surprises’ among the Councils (see clauses 4.7, 4.8 and 4.10).
4. The draft agreement is substantially the same as the current Triennial Agreement, except for minor amendments as follows:
(i) updating the agreement to reflect changes to the Local Government Act (clause 5.4)
(ii) amendments to the shared services provisions to recognise that region’s work around improving resilience (clause 6.1);
(ii) Upper Hutt City Council will be the Council responsible for servicing the agreement this triennium (clause 7.2).
5. The region’s chief executives have been requested to obtain their respective Councils’ approval to enter into the agreement or otherwise to delegate authority to the Mayor and/or CEO to finalise negotiations on the agreement before 1 March.
6. At the date of printing, there has been no further indication as to the position of the other Councils in relation to the draft agreement. It is recommended that should any issues arise, the Council authorises the CEO to undertake and conclude negotiations on the agreement, and once concluded, that the Mayor is authorised to execute it on its behalf.
Consultation
7. Each council has been requested to formally adopt the agreement at a meeting of their respective Council.
Legal Considerations
8. Section 15 of the Local Government Act 2002 requires that by 1 March after each triennial general election all local authorities within each region must enter into an agreement containing:
a. protocols for communication and co-ordination among them during the period until the next triennial general election of members;
b. a statement of the process for consultation on proposals for new regional council activities;
c. processes and protocols through which all local authorities can participate in identifying, delivering and funding facilities and services of significance to more than one district;
d. commitments to establish or continue one or more joint committees or other joint governance arrangements.
9. It is not intended that the Triennial Agreement be legally binding and enforceable. Its status in law is as a high level relational document containing protocols for cooperation and consultation among the councils.
Financial Considerations
10. There are no financial considerations arising from this report.
Other Considerations
11. 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 the local government in that it is a requirement of the Local Government Act 2002 that Councils in the region enter into the agreement.
|
No. |
Title |
Page |
|
1View |
Wellington Regional Trienniel Agreement 2016-2019. |
25 |
Author: Joycelyn Raffills
General Manager, Governance and Regulatory
Approved By: Tony Stallinger
Chief Executive