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Auckland Council is giving more responsibility to local boards, allowing them to make substantive decisions over which assets and services to invest in their areas.
Along with the increased responsibilities, up to $2.8 million will be included in Council’s annual budget to resource and staff the implementation.
The changes to the Allocation of Decision-making for Non-regulatory Activities Policy and the Local Board Funding Policy were approved at the governing body meeting on June 23.
Although some councillors questioned the changes and extra spending it would entail, Deputy Mayor Bill Cashmore said he was placing his bets that more localised decisions would save Council money.
“Going through council amalgamation, we have lost a little bit of that localism,” Cashmore said.
Cr Daniel Newman said local boards would now have a “better line of sight” for decisions in their area.
“I think there are efficiencies in having people who are closest to the consequences of decisions having to take responsibility for those decisions,” Newman said. “I actually think this is a really important piece of work. It will improve co-governance and I look forward to its implementation.”
Mayor Phil Goff said he was originally sceptical of the idea and had concerns for assets that crossed ward lines, but said it would allow each community to decide which assets they would like to sustain and in which they might want to reinvest.
The Governing Body will receive a six-month update in December on the success of the transition, and it will still maintain decisions over budget allocation and minimum service levels.
