Long Term Plan/Annual Plan Subcommittee
Komiti Iti Mahere ā-Ngahurutanga / Mahere ā-Tau
Minutes of a meeting
held in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road,
Lower Hutt on
Wednesday 31 March 2021 commencing at 4.30pm
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PRESENT: |
Mayor C Barry (Chair) |
Deputy Mayor T Lewis (Deputy Chair) |
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Cr D Bassett |
Cr J Briggs (via audio visual link) |
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Cr K Brown |
Cr B Dyer |
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Cr S Edwards |
Cr D Hislop |
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Cr C Milne |
Cr A Mitchell |
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Cr S Rasheed |
Cr N Shaw |
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Cr L Sutton |
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APOLOGIES: There were no apologies.
IN ATTENDANCE: Ms J Miller, Chief Executive
Ms A Blackshaw, Director Neighbourhoods and Communities
Mr M Boggs, Director Strategy and Engagement
Ms H Oram, Director Environment and Sustainability
Mr K Puketapu - Dentice, Director, Economy and Development
Ms J Livschitz, Chief Financial Officer
Mr B Cato, Chief Legal Officer
Mr B Hodgins, Strategic Advisor (part meeting)
Mr A Yip, Strategic Projects Manager
Ms W Moore, Head of Strategy and Planning
Mr D Koenders, Manager Financial Strategy and Planning
Mr J Pritchard, Principal Research and Policy Advisor
Ms A Andrews, Business Analyst, Rates and Finance
Ms C Ellis, Head of Chief Executive’s Office
Mr J Griffiths, Head of Mayor’s Office
Mr J Shadwell, Communications and Engagement Advisor
Ms K Stannard, Head of Democratic Services
Ms J Randall, Democracy Advisor
PUBLIC BUSINESS
1. OPENING FORMALITIES - Karakia Timatanga
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Kia hora te marino Kia whakapapa pounamu te moana He huarahi mā tātou i te rangi nei Aroha atu, aroha mai Tātou i a tātou katoa Hui e Tāiki e! |
May peace be wide spread May the sea be like greenstone A pathway for us all this day Let us show respect for each other For one another Bind us together! |
2. APOLOGIES
There were no apologies.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
Comments are recorded under the item to which they relate.
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflict of interest declarations.
PRECEDENCE OF BUSINESS
In accordance with Standing Order 10.4, Mayor Barry gave precedence to item 5b) on Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2.
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Resolved: (Mayor Barry/Cr Dyer) Minute No. LTPAP 21201 “That the Subcommittee (1) receives the information;
(2) notes the updated version of Draft Consultation Document is included in Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2 attached as Appendix 1 to the officer’s report; and
(3) notes the updated version of the draft Long Term Plan 2021-2031 is included in Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2 attached as Appendix 2 to the officer’s report of Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2.” |
5. Recommendation to Council |Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi - 31 March 2021
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Consultation Document and Draft Long Term Plan 2021-2031 (21/301) |
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Speaking under public comment, Mr Duncan Ballinger, representing Lawyers for Climate Action NZ (LfCA) elaborated on the importance of climate change considerations in Council’s draft Long Term Plan (LTP). He advised Council had a legal obligation to aim to reduce its emissions by 45% over the following 10 years in order to reduce to zero emissions by 2050. He added that active travel and public transport would assist this goal. He noted recent advice from the Climate Change Commission that public transport use needed to more than double over the next 10 years to achieve this goal.
In response to questions from members, Mr Ballinger agreed to send a link to the LfCA website for members to access. He noted that he would review their website to make it more useful for Councils.
Speaking under public comment, Mr Matt Young expressed concern at the lack of planning for the rapid action required for global warming. In particular, he noted the draft LTP had not focussed enough attention on transforming current modes of transport. He noted the 7% reduction in emissions required each year to reach zero emissions was not reflected in the draft LTP. He considered there was insufficient information on micro mobility or active transport and there were no bus priority plans. He added that officers were unable to advise the percentage of the transport infrastructure budget proposed to be spent on each mode of transport.
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The Director Strategy and Engagement elaborated on the recommendations contained within the officer’s report.
The Head of Strategy and Planning elaborated on the report. In response to a question from a member, the Head of Strategy and Planning confirmed the dates for the hearing of submissions had changed since the report had been written. She confirmed the hearing of submissions would now be held on 20, 21 May and 24 May 2021. The Chief Financial Officer elaborated on the external audit process. She confirmed all Council decisions and audit responses had been incorporated into the draft LTP. She advised that the findings of the audit and the changes made to the Consultation Document, as a result of audit advice, would be reported to the next Audit and Risk Subcommittee meeting.
Mr Andrew Clark, Audit Director from Audit New Zealand (Audit NZ) was in attendance. He noted all audit findings had been addressed and were incorporated in the Consultation Document. He confirmed the audit was complete and he was ready to provide a final Audit Opinion. He drew the members attention to the three highlighted ‘emphasis of matter’ items outlined in the Audit Opinion. He said a representative from Audit NZ would report back in June 2021 to audit Council’s final LTP. Mayor Barry thanked members and officers for their work to create a plan that prioritised affordability. He highlighted the issues facing Council which were ageing infrastructure, historic under investment and population growth. He added that Council was proposing to double its capital investment to $1.4B over the next 10 years. He also added that Council was proposing a 5.9% rates increase which equated to $2.50 per week for the average residential household. He highlighted that in order to propose a 5.9% rates increase, officers had worked hard to find savings by undertaking a base budget review. He emphasised that the draft LTP was the community’s plan and he looked forward to hearing the feedback from the community. In response to a suggestion from a member that an open ended question be included in the Consultation Document, the meeting, by agreement of the majority of members, asked the Chief Executive to include the open ended question in the Consultation Document. Cr Edwards emphasised that, in relation to the public speakers’ comments, Council was investing a great deal of money in climate change. He highlighted that Council was spending millions of dollars on Council transport, building emissions, a cycle and pedestrian bridge as part of Riverlink, Wainuiomata shared path and the Beltway. He also highlighted that work was commencing on a city wide community driven plan about how Council could drive down city wide emissions. In response to a suggestion from a member that enhanced performance measures and targets in the draft LTP be reported through the relevant standing committees before Council considered the information in June 2021, the meeting, by agreement of the majority of members, asked the Chief Executive to action this suggestion. Deputy Mayor Lewis congratulated Mayor Barry and the Chief Executive on their first draft LTP. She also congratulated members for contributing, in such a big way, to the draft LTP. Crs Dyer, Mitchell, Briggs, Brown, Cr Hislop and Cr Shaw congratulated the officers for their work on the Consultation Document, the draft LTP and finding ways to save money. They highlighted the written information was well set out and easy to understand. They expressed excitement with engaging with the community and receiving feedback on issues that matter to them. Mayor Barry expressed the importance of Council getting the basics right for businesses and the community in order for them to thrive in the City. |
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Resolved: (UNANIMOUS) (Mayor Barry/Deputy Mayor Lewis) Minute No. LTPAP 21202 “That the Subcommittee recommends that Council: (1) receives the information including the information contained in the report attached to Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2; (2) notes the high level plan as outlined in table 1 of the report and that the formal public consultation process is planned for the period 6 April to 6 May 2021; (3) endorses the decisions of the Long Term Plan Working Group (comprising the Mayor and Chairs of standing committees) as detailed in table 2 contained within the report; (4) agrees to adopt the underlying information for the Draft Long Term Plan 2021-2031, attached as Appendix 2 to the report of Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2; (5) agrees to adopt the Consultation Document attached as Appendix 1 to the report of Supplementary Order Paper Volume 2 for public consultation between 6 April 2021 and 6 May 2021; (6) receives the Audit Opinion from Audit New Zealand following the adoption of the Consultation Document; and (7) agrees that the Chief Executive be delegated authority to make minor editorial changes to the Draft Long Term Plan 2021-2031 documents ahead of these being published for consultation.” |
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5. QUESTIONS
There were no questions.
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 5.20pm.
C Barry
MAYOR
CONFIRMED as a true and correct record
Dated this 1st day of June 2021