Minutes of Extraordinary Finance Committee

Extraordinary Finance Committee – 29 March 2017 – Open Minutes

Apologies

Apologies

Councillors Wise / Brosnan

That the apology from Deputy Mayor Faye White be accepted.

CARRIED

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

None

Public forum

Councillors Wise/ Brosnan

That representatives from the Pangeaseed Foundation be invited to speak to Council on the Sea Walls project.

CARRIED

Mr Cinzah Merkens and Mr Tre Packard of the Pangeaseed Foundation thanked Council and the many officers involved in funding and contributing arrangements towards the Sea Walls 2017 mural exhibition. Twenty-four murals were produced this year, a significant increase on last year’s event. They noted that the works are of international caliber and many artists had remarked on the high level of support from Council and the Napier community. This was the first time the exhibition had returned to the same place two years in a row.

It was noted that Ahuriri was a temporary location for the driftwood sculpture by Whanganui artist Jack Marsden Mayer was currently temporary but there may be opportunity to secure the piece more permanently for Napier.

The Chair thanked the representatives for bringing the project back to Napier and they left the meeting.

Announcements by the Mayor

The Mayor will be absent from next week’s Council meeting and the Deputy Mayor will also be away. The Council meeting will be chaired by Councillor Wise.

Announcements by the Chairperson

None

Announcements by the Management

None

Notification and Justification of Matters of Extraordinary Business

(Strictly for information and/or referral purposes only).

Agenda Items

1. Review of Fees & Charges 2017/18

*Type of Report:*	Operational
*Legal Reference:*	Local Government Act 2002
*Reporting Officer/s & Unit:*	Adele Henderson, Director Corporate Services

1.1 Purpose of Report

To consider Fees and Charges proposed for the year commencing 1 July 2017.

At the Meeting

In response to questions from elected members, the following was clarified:

· The apparent increase in the price of adopting a dog is in fact the collation of what were previously a number of separate costs; that is, the total fee has not increased but is presented differently. Council’s rate remains notably lower than purchasing a dog from the SPCA.

· In relation to a specific question on charging for the Sound Shell, it was noted that this was available free of charge for community users.

· The increase to the four all-day casual parking sites (from $4 to $5) was made to bring the rates in line with Council’s Parking Strategy and the leased parking rates.

Particular concern was expressed at the increased parking rates for the four all-day sites, noting that the people most likely to be most affected by the change are those least likely to be able to afford an increase (for example part time workers).

It was noted that Council has two remaining opportunities to consider whether to progress with the proposed increase or whether to amend it: at the second debate of this item at the Council meeting scheduled for 5 April 2017, and as part of the discussion prior to adoption of the final Annual Plan in June 2017.

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Jeffery / Hague

That the proposed Schedule of Fees and Charges for 2017/18 be adopted and form part of the supporting information for the 2017/18 Annual Plan.

CARRIED

2. Annual Plan 2017/18

*Type of Report:*	Legal and Operational
*Legal Reference:*	Local Government (Rating) Act 2002
*Document ID:*	346114
*Reporting Officer/s & Unit:*	Adele Henderson, Director Corporate Services

2.1 Purpose of Report

The Annual Plan is prepared and adopted as part of the requirements from Section 95 of the Local Government Act. The purpose of this report is to propose not to consult due to there being no significant or material variances to the Long Term Plan 2015-25 for year three.

At the Meeting

In response to questions from elected members, the following was clarified:

· Information on Pandora will be included in the Long Term Plan rather than the Annual Plan.

· The Community Grants funding had been increased to $50K to address smaller requests that would usually have been received via the Annual Plan consultation process (that is, requests of up to $20K). Larger projects could now apply to the new Council Projects fund of $200K.

· Criteria for assessing applications to the Community Grants fund already exist and community groups are welcome to meet with the Community Services group to discuss which fund to direct their application to. The criteria for this fund are wide enough that it would not exclude any requests that would usually have been received via the Annual Plan process. Applications are assessed by officers, with a clear separation between the assessor and the approver of nay funding.

· Guidelines for the criteria for Council Projects fund application assessments could be agreed with Council in a workshop. Requests for funding for projects above $200K should be made to the Chief Executive who would direct officers to investigate and bring options to Council for discussion and assessment against other priority projects.

· Information on the funds and applying to the Community Grants and Council Projects Fund would be on the Council website.

· Information on all applications received and the decision made will be included in the Council Quarterly Report.

· Strategies that relate to the Long Term Plan currently under development will be brought to Council as soon as possible; the Chair noted that the significant changes in staffing over the previous 12 months will necessarily have extended the time frames on such work.

· A phased approach has been taken with the Multi-use Sports Facility project; the current ‘gateway’ of a decision on the business case is pending information from Sport New Zealand. A specific date cannot yet be set to bring the matter back to Council as it is unclear when the information from Sport NZ will be provided; a report will be prepared to Council as soon as possible once the information is received. In the meantime the project and funding implications will be considered under the Long Term Plan process. A seminar on the financial case for the Multi-use Sports facility is scheduled for 12 April 2017.

Support was expressed for the engagement plan, noting that it was an excellent approach to reinforce the increased opportunities for funding applications and input into Council’s long term planning.

For clarity, each part of the Officer’s Recommendation was taken separately.

ACTION: Director Corporate Services to include information on applications received to the Community Grants fund and Council Projects fund, as well as any decision made, in the Quarterly Report.

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Taylor / Hague

a. That Napier City Council recognise the changes in Local Government Act 2002 consultation requirements, and do not consult on the Annual Plan 2017/18 as there are no significant or material changes to those presented in the Long Term Plan 2015-25

CARRIED

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors McGrath / Wright

b. That Council increase the funding for Community Grants by $50,000 for 2017/18, to be funded from rates

CARRIED

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Jeffery / Brosnan

c. That Council provide a Community Projects fund of $200,000, to be funded from rates, in the Draft Annual Plan 2017/18

CARRIED

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Brosnan / Wright

d. That Council inform the public and make the Draft Annual Plan 2017/18 available on the Council website, subject to any identified minor corrections for spelling and grammar

CARRIED

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Price / Taylor

e. That Council approve the proposed average rate increase of 3.9% (noting that this is lower than the Long Term Plan proposed increase for 2017/18 of 5.0%)

CARRIED

Committee's Recommendation

Councillors Wise / Hague

f. That Council seek feedback on the proposed Fees and Charges for the Council activities for 2017/18 on the Council website by 30^th April 2017

CARRIED

The meeting concluded at 2.08pm

APPROVED AND ADOPTED AS A TRUE AND ACCURATE RECORD OF THE

MEETING

CHAIRPERSON:_____________________________

DATE OF APPROVAL:________________________

Meeting Date:	Wednesday 29 March 2017
Time:	1.30pm
Venue:	Main Committee Room 3rd floor Civic Building 231 Hastings Street Napier

Present:	Councillor Wise (In the Chair), the Mayor, Councillors Boag, Brosnan, Dallimore, Hague, Jeffery, McGrath, Price, Tapine, Taylor, Wright
In Attendance:	Chief Executive, Director Corporate Services, Director Infrastructure Services, Director Community Services, Director City Strategy, Manager Communications, Chief Financial Officer, Manager Community Strategies, Corporate Planner
Administration:	Governance Advisor