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Council-3-October-2017-Minutes.Pdf Minutes of the Meeting of the Whanganui District Council held at 1.00pm on Tuesday, 3 October 2017, in the Council Chamber, Municipal Office Buildings, 101 Guyton Street, Whanganui ___________________________________________________________________ Present: Mayor Hamish McDouall (Chair), Deputy Mayor Cr Jenny Duncan, Cr Charlie Anderson, Cr Philippa Baker-Hogan, Cr David Bennett, Cr Murray Cleveland, Cr Kate Joblin, Cr Hadleigh Reid, Cr Alan Taylor, Cr Rob Vinsen and Cr Graeme Young. Apologies: Cr Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Cr Helen Craig, Mr David Matthews (Chair, Wanganui Rural Community Board). Officers in Attendance: Mr Kym Fell (Chief Executive), Ms Sarah Pomeroy (Communications and Marketing Manager) and Ms Therese Zimmerman (Governance Services Officer). Secretary: Mrs Karyn Turner (Governance Services Officer). Prayer Cr Hadleigh Reid read the Prayer. Apologies Council’s Resolution Proposed by Mayor McDouall, seconded by Cr Duncan: THAT apologies from Cr Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Cr Helen Craig and Mr David Matthews are received. CARRIED Declarations of Interest Cr Anderson and Cr Vinsen declared a conflict of interest in Item 11: Council-Controlled Organisations’ Governance Manual. Additional Information Item Officer Order Paper Page 2. Council Appointments Charlotte Almond 14 Confidential Kym Fell 143 12. Chief Executive’s Report – October 2017 Council’s Resolution Proposed by Mayor McDouall, seconded by Cr Bennett: 1 THAT the additional information tabled is taken with the relevant item. CARRIED 2 Public Engagement Forum No public registrations for this meeting. Confirmation of Council Minutes – 6 September 2017 Council’s Resolution Proposed by Mayor McDouall, seconded by Cr Vinsen: THAT the minutes of the Whanganui District Council meeting held 6 September 2017 are confirmed. CARRIED Reports to Council 1. Iwi Engagement Bryan Nicholson, Chief Operating Officer, reports: Executive summary This report outlines Council’s recent engagement with Iwi. Background Formal relationships exist between the Council and Te Rūnanga O Tupoho and Te Rūnanga O Tamaupoko, with regular hui scheduled throughout the year that focuses on all levels – political, social, economic and environmental – for the benefit of all of Whanganui. The following hui have been held and matters discussed: Tupoho Working Party Thursday, 7 September 2017, at Whanganui District Council. ‘Te Whakarauhitanga o Te Tangata’ – Relationship Document 2017-2022. Te Ope Road – Tenga Street research. Pukenamu/Queens Park Reserve Management Plan Update. 2018 Hui Dates. GIS mapping of Iwi historical knowledge. Iwi engagement on Strategy and Policy. Representation Review – Māori Wards. Schedule of Fees for engagement. Resource Management Act Remuneration. Next hui scheduled for 18 October 2017 at Rangahaua. The unconfirmed minutes of the Tupoho Working Party hui held on 7 September 2017 are attached (Ref A). Council Meeting 3 October 2017 3 Iwi Engagement Framework A mid-hui has now been schedule between Tupoho representatives and Council staff. This is a regular Hui which occurs in between the Tupoho Working Party meetings every six weeks. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for any policies, documents etc which require Tupoho consideration to be discussed in more depth if required before being taken back to the Runanga and dispersed accordingly. Operational matters of lesser priority will be undertaken and completed at this meeting, so that discussion at the link meetings will then be more focused around significant issues and joint efforts in alignment with the council/Iwi relationship documents. It is also designed to lessen the impact of council consultation on Tupoho through coordinated engagement. A schedule of fees has now been agreed between Council and Te Rūnanga O Tupoho for the various projects and work happening outside of the regular working group meetings. References – Agenda Attachments A Unconfirmed minutes of the Tupoho Working Party hui held on 7 September 2017. Significance of decision – In terms of the Significance and Engagement Policy 2014, the decision is not significant. Council’s Resolution Proposed by Mayor McDouall, seconded by Cr Joblin: 1.1 THAT the Iwi engagement information is noted. 1.2 THAT the unconfirmed minutes of the Tupoho Working Party hui held on 7 September 2017, are received. CARRIED 2. Council Appointments Charlotte Almond, General Manager – Strategy, reports: Mayor Hamish McDouall recommends to Council that Cr Graeme Young is appointed to the Whanganui District Council Tenders Board. Additional information was tabled. The Council’s approval is sought for the following two appointments: Whanganui River Enhancement Charitable Trust – Mayor McDouall Manawatu – Wanganui Disaster Relief Trust – Cr Jenny Duncan (replacing Mayor Hamish McDouall) Discussion Mayor McDouall explained his appointment to the Whanganui River Enhancement Charitable Trust was an interim replacement for Jonathan Barrett, the Council’s previous Council Meeting 3 October 2017 4 Planning Manager. Deputy Mayor Cr Duncan had been the Council’s representative on the Manawatu-Wanganui Disaster Relief Trust prior to its governance and administration change. Significance of decision – In terms of the Significance and Engagement Policy 2014, the decision is not significant. Council’s Resolution Proposed by Cr Vinsen, seconded by Cr Baker-Hogan: 2.2 THAT the Council approves Mayor McDouall’s appointments to: Whanganui District Council Tenders Board – Cr Graeme Young (replacing Cr David Bennett) Whanganui River Enhancement Charitable Trust – Mayor McDouall Manawatu – Wanganui Disaster Relief Trust – Cr Jenny Duncan (replacing Mayor Hamish McDouall) CARRIED ACTION: Karyn Turner 3. Government Consultation Update Justin Walters, Policy Analyst, reports: “Executive summary The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Central Government and other consultations being undertaken which have the potential to impact on Council or the Whanganui District; and for Council to consider the Council submission on the Remuneration Authority’s long term changes for local government remuneration. Background The purpose of the Government Consultation Update (Ref B1) is to keep the Council informed on opportunities to provide feedback on legislation, discussion documents and other consultations undertaken by Central Government and public organisations that have potential to affect the operation of Council or the wider Whanganui District within the responsibilities of Council. The following new or updated government consultations are available for comment since the last update to Council: Consultation Recommendation Closing Date on Submission Remuneration Authority – Consultation Make submission New Document – Local Government Review – 15/12/2017 Long term changes A discussion document on the Remuneration Council Meeting 3 October 2017 5 Authority’s long term changes to local government remuneration. New – Employment (Pay Equity and Equal No submission 1/11/2017 Pay) Bill A bill to prevent discrimination, on the basis of gender, in the remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment. Key Issues Remuneration Authority - Local Government Review - Long term changes The Remuneration Authority is proposing changes to how local government elected members (both councillors and community board members) are remunerated. The changes include a move to setting a pool of funding based on the ‘size’ of a council from which elected members are paid. The Remuneration Authority is consulting both on how the ‘size’ of a council is set and the method that elected members are paid. It is currently proposed that the size of territorial authorities be set based on population, operational expenditure, asset size, social deprivation and number of guest nights. Individual elected member’s remuneration is proposed to be set by a 75% majority vote of Council with a formal job description. A draft submission is provided for consideration by the Council (Ref B2) and includes amendments resulting from Elected Members’ comments on a previous draft submission that was circulated. Key aspects of the submission are: That operational expenditure, asset size, social deprivation and number of guest nights are the most significant influences on the responsibility and workload of elected members while population only has an indirect influence on member’s responsibility. That the role of the Mayor should be considered as a full time position with a ‘base’ remuneration with additional sizing based on the size of the council. Councils should be allowed to set elected members’ remuneration from a governance pool through formal job descriptions with a 75% majority vote of members. Community boards should be funded from the governance pool as their primary role is to represent a particular community group within council. Local government remuneration should be aligned to parliamentary remuneration with difference for job sizing. Next Steps If the Council resolves to adopt the submission on the Remuneration Authority’s long term review of local government remuneration, the submission will be forwarded to Council Meeting 3 October 2017 6 Remuneration Authority for consideration. If the Council resolves to make any changes to the submission, the amended submission will be approved by the Mayor and Chief Executive based on the resolution of Council. The final submission will then be included at the Council’s next meeting for noting. If the Council resolves to make a submission on
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