AGENDA

 

Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting

Tuesday, 6 June 2023

I hereby give notice that a Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting will be held on:

Date:

Tuesday, 6 June 2023

Time:

1pm

Location:

Ground Floor Meeting Room 1

306 Cameron Road

Tauranga

Please note that this meeting will be livestreamed and the recording will be publicly available on Tauranga City Council's website: www.tauranga.govt.nz.

Marty Grenfell

Chief Executive

 


Terms of reference – Strategy, Finance & Risk Committee

 

 

Membership

Chairperson

Commission Chair Anne Tolley

Deputy chairperson

Dr Wayne Beilby – Tangata Whenua representative

Members

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

Commissioner Stephen Selwood

Commissioner Bill Wasley

 

Matire Duncan, Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana Chairperson

Te Pio Kawe         –   Tangata Whenua representative

Rohario Murray    –   Tangata Whenua representative

Bruce Robertson  –   External appointee with finance and risk experience

Quorum

Five (5) members must be physically present, and at least three (3) commissioners and two (2) externally appointed members must be present.

Meeting frequency

Six weekly

 

Role

The role of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee (the Committee) is:

(a)        to assist and advise the Council in discharging its responsibility and ownership of health and safety, risk management, internal control, financial management practices, frameworks and processes to ensure these are robust and appropriate to safeguard the Council's staff and its financial and non-financial assets;

(b)        to consider strategic issues facing the city and develop a pathway for the future;

(c)        to monitor progress on achievement of desired strategic outcomes;

(d)        to review and determine the policy and bylaw framework that will assist in achieving the strategic priorities and outcomes for the Tauranga City Council.

Membership

The Committee will consist of:

·            four commissioners with the Commission Chair appointed as the Chairperson of the Committee

·            the Chairperson of Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana

·            three tangata whenua representatives (recommended by Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana and appointed by Council)

·            an independent external person with finance and risk experience appointed by the Council.

 

Voting Rights

The tangata whenua representatives and the independent external person have voting rights as do the Commissioners.

The Chairperson of Te Rangapu Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana is an advisory position, without voting rights, designed to ensure mana whenua discussions are connected to the committee.

Committee's Scope and Responsibilities

A.  STRATEGIC ISSUES

The Committee will consider strategic issues, options, community impact and explore opportunities for achieving outcomes through a partnership approach.

A1 – Strategic Issues

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to Strategic Issues are:

·            Adopt an annual work programme of significant strategic issues and projects to be addressed. The work programme will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis.

·            In respect of each issue/project on the work programme, and any additional matters as determined by the Committee:

      Consider existing and future strategic context

      Consider opportunities and possible options

      Determine preferred direction and pathway forward and recommend to Council for inclusion into strategies, statutory documents (including City Plan) and plans.

·            Consider and approve changes to service delivery arrangements arising from the service delivery reviews required under Local Government Act 2002 that are referred to the Committee by the Chief Executive.

·            To take appropriate account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

A2 – Policy and Bylaws

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to Policy and Bylaws are:

·            Develop, review and approve bylaws to be publicly consulted on, hear and deliberate on any submissions and recommend to Council the adoption of the final bylaw. (The Committee will recommend the adoption of a bylaw to the Council as the Council cannot delegate to a Committee the adoption of a bylaw.)

·            Develop, review and approve policies including the ability to publicly consult, hear and deliberate on and adopt policies.

A3 – Monitoring of Strategic Outcomes and Long Term Plan and Annual Plan

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to monitoring of strategic outcomes and Long Term Plan and Annual Plan are:

·            Reviewing and reporting on outcomes and action progress against the approved strategic direction. Determine any required review / refresh of strategic direction or action pathway.

·            Reviewing and assessing progress in each of the six (6) key investment proposal areas within the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan.

·            Reviewing the achievement of financial and non-financial performance measures against the approved Long Term Plan and Annual Plans.

B. FINANCE AND RISK

The Committee will review the effectiveness of the following to ensure these are robust and appropriate to safeguard the Council's financial and non-financial assets:

·            Health and safety.

·            Risk management.

·            Significant projects and programmes of work focussing on the appropriate management of risk.

·            Internal and external audit and assurance.

·            Fraud, integrity and investigations.

·            Monitoring of compliance with laws and regulations.

·            Oversight of preparation of the Annual Report and other external financial reports required by statute.

·            Oversee the relationship with the Council’s Investment Advisors and Fund Managers.

·            Oversee the relationship between the Council and its external auditor.

·            Review the quarterly financial and non-financial reports to the Council.

B1 - Health and Safety

The Committee’s responsibilities through regard to health and safety are:

·            Reviewing the effectiveness of the health and safety policies and processes to ensure a healthy and safe workspace for representatives, staff, contractors, visitors and the public.

·            Assisting the Commissioners to discharge their statutory roles as "Officers" in terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

B2 - Risk Management

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to risk management are:

·            Review, approve and monitor the implementation of the Risk Management Policy, including the Corporate Risk Register.

·            Review and approve the Council’s "risk appetite" statement.

·            Review the effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems including all material financial, operational, compliance and other material controls. This includes legislative compliance, significant projects and programmes of work, and significant procurement.

·            Review risk management reports identifying new and/or emerging risks and any subsequent changes to the "Tier One" register.

B3 - Internal Audit

The Committee’s responsibilities with regard to the Internal Audit are:

·            Review and approve the Internal Audit Charter to confirm the authority, independence and scope of the Internal Audit function. The Internal Audit Charter may be reviewed at other times and as required.

·            Review and approve annually and monitor the implementation of the Internal Audit Plan.

·            Review the co-ordination between the risk and internal audit functions, including the integration of the Council's risk profile with the Internal Audit programme. This includes assurance over all material financial, operational, compliance and other material controls. This includes legislative compliance (including Health and Safety), significant projects and programmes of work and significant procurement.

·            Review the reports of the Internal Audit functions dealing with findings, conclusions and recommendations.

·            Review and monitor management’s responsiveness to the findings and recommendations and enquire into the reasons that any recommendation is not acted upon.

B4 - External Audit

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to the External Audit are:

·            Review with the external auditor, before the audit commences, the areas of audit focus and audit plan.

·            Review with the external auditors, representations required by commissioners and senior management, including representations as to the fraud and integrity control environment.

·            Recommend adoption of external accountability documents (LTP and annual report) to the Council.

·            Review the external auditors, management letter and management responses and inquire into reasons for any recommendations not acted upon.

·            Where required, the Chair may ask a senior representative of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) to attend the Committee meetings to discuss the OAG's plans, findings and other matters of mutual interest.

·            Recommend to the Office of the Auditor General the decision either to publicly tender the external audit or to continue with the existing provider for a further three-year term.

B5 - Fraud and Integrity

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to Fraud and Integrity are:

·            Review and provide advice on the Fraud Prevention and Management Policy.

·            Review, adopt and monitor the Protected Disclosures Policy.

·            Review and monitor policy and process to manage conflicts of interest amongst commissioners, tangata whenua representatives,  external representatives appointed to council committees or advisory boards, management, staff, consultants and contractors.

·            Review reports from Internal Audit, external audit and management related to protected disclosures, ethics, bribery and fraud related incidents.

·            Review and monitor policy and processes to manage responsibilities under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the Privacy Act 2020 and any actions from the Office of the Ombudsman's report.

B6 - Statutory Reporting

The Committee's responsibilities with regard to Statutory Reporting relate to reviewing and monitoring the integrity of the Annual Report and recommending to the Council for adoption the statutory financial statements and any other formal announcements relating to the Council's financial performance, focusing particularly on:

·            Compliance with, and the appropriate application of, relevant accounting policies, practices and accounting standards.

·            Compliance with applicable legal requirements relevant to statutory reporting.

·            The consistency of application of accounting policies, across reporting periods.

·            Changes to accounting policies and practices that may affect the way that accounts are presented.

·            Any decisions involving significant judgement, estimation or uncertainty.

·            The extent to which financial statements are affected by any unusual transactions and the manner in which they are disclosed.

·            The disclosure of contingent liabilities and contingent assets.

·            The basis for the adoption of the going concern assumption.

·            Significant adjustments resulting from the audit.

Power to Act

·            To make all decisions necessary to fulfil the role, scope and responsibilities of the Committee subject to the limitations imposed.

·            To establish sub-committees, working parties and forums as required.

·            This Committee has not been delegated any responsibilities, duties or powers that the Local Government Act 2002, or any other Act, expressly provides the Council may not delegate. For the avoidance of doubt, this Committee has not been delegated the power to:

o               make a rate;

o               make a bylaw;

o               borrow money, or purchase or dispose of assets, other than in accordance with the Long-Term Plan (LTP);

o               adopt the LTP or Annual Plan;

o               adopt the Annual Report;

o               adopt any policies required to be adopted and consulted on in association with the LTP or developed for the purpose of the local governance statement;

o               adopt a remuneration and employment policy;

o               appoint a chief executive.

Power to Recommend

To Council and/or any standing committee as it deems appropriate.

 

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

Order of Business

1         Opening karakia. 9

2         Apologies. 9

3         Public forum.. 9

4         Acceptance of late items. 9

5         Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 9

6         Change to order of business. 9

7         Confirmation of minutes. 10

7.1           Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 27 March 2023. 10

8         Declaration of conflicts of interest 22

9         Business. 23

9.1           Audit Plan for 2023 Annual Report, Fees and Engagement Letter 23

9.2           Quarter 3 Update of Capital Programme, presentations from Delivery Teams. 49

9.3           Q3 Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 March 2023. 50

9.4           Traffic and Parking Bylaw Review Issues and Options Paper 88

9.5           Growth & Land Use Projects Progress Report - May 2023. 95

9.6           Wairoa River Valley Strategy review - project update. 123

9.7           Capacity and Capability of Civil Defence Emergency Management 136

9.8           Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update - May 2023. 144

9.9           2023 Q3 Jan-Mar Health and Safety Report 153

9.10         Q3 Report 2023 LGOIMA and Privacy Requests. 163

10       Discussion of late items. 166

11       Public excluded session. 167

11.1         Corporate Risk Register - Quarterly Update. 167

11.2         Internal Audit & Assurance - Quarterly Update. 167

11.3         Litigation Report 168

12       Closing karakia. 169

 

 


1          Opening karakia

2          Apologies

3          Public forum 

4          Acceptance of late items

5          Confidential business to be transferred into the open

6          Change to order of business


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

7          Confirmation of minutes

7.1         Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 27 March 2023

File Number:           A14695650

Author:                    Sarah Drummond, Governance Advisor

Authoriser:              Sarah Drummond, Governance Advisor

 

Recommendations

That the Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 27 March 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

 

 

 

Attachments

1.       Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 27 March 2023 

 

 


UnconfirmedStrategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting minutes

27 March 2023

 

 

 

MINUTES

Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting

Monday, 27 March 2023

 


 

Order of Business

1         Opening karakia. 3

2         Apologies. 3

3         Public forum.. 3

4         Acceptance of late items. 3

5         Confidential business to be transferred into the open. 4

6         Change to order of business. 4

7         Confirmation of open minutes and public excluded minutes. 4

7.1           Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 13 February 2023. 4

8         Declaration of conflicts of interest 4

9         Business. 4

9.1           Western Bay of Plenty International Strategy 2023-2025. 4

9.2           Mainstreets' Monitoring Reports for the period 1 July to 31 December 2022. 5

9.3           Adoption of Public Art Framework. 7

9.4           Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update. 8

9.5           Refreshed outline plan of Committee's upcoming work programme. 9

9.6           Long-term Plan 2021-31 actions tracker 10

9.7           Second Quarter Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 December 2022. 10

10       Discussion of late items. 11

11       Public excluded session. 11

12       Closing karakia. 11

 

 


 

MINUTES OF Tauranga City Council

Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting

HELD AT THE BoP Regional Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

ON Monday, 27 March 2023 AT 9.30am

 

 

PRESENT:                 Commission Chair Anne Tolley, Dr Wayne Beilby, Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston, Commissioner Stephen Selwood, Commissioner Bill Wasley, Mr Te Pio Kawe, Ms Rohario Murray, Mr Bruce Robertson

IN ATTENDANCE:     Marty Grenfell (Chief Executive), Paul Davidson (Chief Financial Officer), Barbara Dempsey (General Manager: Community Services), Nic Johansson (General Manager: Infrastructure), Christine Jones (General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance), Sarah Omundsen (General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance), Anne Blakeway (General Manager: City Development & Partnerships), Lisa Gilmour (City Partnership Specialist), Kendyl Sullivan (City Partnerships Specialist), James Wilson (Manager: Arts & Culture), Carl Lucca (Team Leader: Urban Communities), Jeremy Boase (Manager: Strategy & Corporate Planning), Kathryn Sharplin (Manager: Finance), Tracey Hughes (Financial Insights & Reporting Manager), Josh Logan (Team Leader: Corporate Planning), Coral Hair (Manager: Democracy & Governance Services), Robyn Garrett (Team Leader: Governance Services), Sarah Drummond (Governance Advisor), Anahera Dinsdale (Governance Advisor)

 

1          Opening karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston opened the meeting with a karakia.

2          Apologies

Apology

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/1

Moved:       Ms Rohario Murray

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the apologies for absence received from Committee members Matire Duncan and Te Pio Kawe for lateness and Dr Wayne Beilby for early leaving be accepted.

Carried

 

3          Public forum

Nil

4          Acceptance of late items

Nil

5          Confidential business to be transferred into the open

Nil

6          Change to order of business

Nil

7          Confirmation of open minutes and public excluded minutes

7.1         Minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 13 February 2023

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/2

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Dr Wayne Beilby

That the open and public excluded minutes of the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 13 February 2023 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Carried

 

8          Declaration of conflicts of interest

Deputy Chair Dr Wayne Beilby declared an interest in agenda item 9.1 as a board member of Priority One.

9          Business

9.1         Western Bay of Plenty International Strategy 2023-2025

Staff          Gareth Wallis, General Manager: Central City Development

Lisa Gilmour, City Partnership Specialist

 

External    Greg Simmonds, General Manager: Workforce and Policy, Priority One

 

Key points

·       This was the latest iteration of the strategy. It was last fully updated in 2020, however, given Covid, there had been a refresh. Reengagement on the strategy would now begin in the post-Covid environment.

 

In response to questions

·       The Committee would like to see more work on opportunities with students around how to re-connect and grow the sector back to previous numbers of students within the region.

·       Queried whether sister city relationships could be leveraged to increase these numbers.

·       The framework would begin to bring all these strands together so there was visibility of what was being achieved in education in Tauranga.

·       This year delegations would be going back to Korea and re-engaging with partners in China, mostly in the primary and secondary school areas, to provide chances to grow student numbers.

·       The Committee would like to see key performance indicators and metrics around the strategy and would like to see these reported back to the Committee annually.

 

 

 

Discussion points raised

·       Recognition of mana whenua relationships and partnerships in the sector was raised.  It was suggested that the Welcoming Communities programme could be used to develop greater relationships beyond welcoming new migrants.

·       At present each partner in Priority 1 has their own framework to engage with mana whenua.

·       Education Tauranga as an entity with its own board could undertake further liaising with other organisations with a purpose of destination marketing to attract a wide range of students to Tauranga.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/3

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Dr Wayne Beilby

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the “Western Bay of Plenty International Strategy 2023-2025” report.

(b)     Endorses the updated Western Bay of Plenty International Strategy 2023-2025 (Attachment 1).

Carried

 

9.2         Mainstreets' Monitoring Reports for the period 1 July to 31 December 2022

Staff          Gareth Wallis, General Manager: Central City Development

Kendyl Sullivan, City Partnerships Specialist

 

External    Brian Berry and Sally Cooke - Mainstreet Tauranga

Mahia Martelli - Greerton Mainstreet

Claudia West - Mount Maunganui Mainstreet

 

Downtown Tauranga

Key points

·       The Mainstreet Association felt that the Central Business District (CBD) was in crisis. The association was working to solve the matters concerning them in a timely manner.

·       There were perception issues that the CBD was not a destination and was also a hard area to navigate in due to ongoing roadworks and development and construction. Concerned that the area had significant issues with vagrancy and was perceived as being an unsafe area.

·       The introduction of paid parking had been confusing and the Association felt that a park and ride system would have assisted in alleviating parking pressure and parks not being utilised.

·       The Association was aware of 12 businesses in the CBD that had recently closed or were about to close.

·       Solutions in the medium to long-term were being worked through but the Association felt that a solution in the short term would be to provide rates relief across the CBD.

·       There was a concern property values had decreased significantly.

·       Safety issues within the CBD continued to be seen as a weak point in the CBD development and an area of concern to all businesses in the area.

·       A return to use of the Māori Wardens was mooted and questions raised on who could or would fund this option.

·       Reports had been received by the Association (particularly from hospitality workers) needing security to get to their cars at the end of shifts and of staff too scared to park in the CBD.

 

Discussion points raised

·       Ferry patronage was strongly weather dependant, but the return of the cruise ships was a welcome addition.

·       Work on CBD security measures would continue, and the Council aimed to keep working with Mainstreet on safety issues.

·       Māori Wardens was a paid service and worked in conjunction with police.  There was the potential to work together for solutions and provide more communications on CBD activities and opportunities for retail investment.

 

Greerton Mainstreet

Key points

·       A new board had been appointed and was beginning to bed in.

·       37 trees were yarn bombed this year and the festival had taken a new direction and had proved as popular as ever.

·       Fund raising initiatives for the area were being investigated and a new website had been created and was up and running.

·       The community was looking forward to Easter and the traditional Easter Egg hunt and fun day.

·       Work had commenced at Blake Park for tree planting although with a limited budget. 

·       Member accounts had been completed and audited on time and in full.

 

Discussion

·       The Committee requested that a letter of appreciation be sent to retiring Greerton Mainstreet Manager Sally Benning for her constant and valuable contribution to Greerton; she was a pillar of the community who tirelessly worked to make her community more visible. 

Mount Maunganui Mainstreet

Key points

·       The Association was reviewing their yearly progress to develop strategic plans for further community engagement and events particularly to increase foot traffic and patronage through the quieter winter months. To also encourage new membership of the association. They had been heartened to see their work starting to create big and small wins, such as their new website now being live and increasing in receiving traffic.

·       The outdoor movies run in conjunction with a local radio station continued to be a great success with good attendance. The Association hoped that these would become a tradition for local families.

·       Another success was the decoration of 15 Christmas trees by local schools; it created great excitement with many school groups coming to find their tree.

·       The Association was excited to bring the first set of sales data to the Committee. They had distilled the figures down to three major groups into which 73% of their members fitted. The total spend for the 2021/2022 financial year was $153million with $73m of that belonging to the largest group of hospitality retailers.

·       The data showed sales slowdowns with Covid lockdowns in Auckland and locally and reflected the seasonal nature of trading in the Mount with foot traffic and sales falling off markedly from March. The Association, as part of their forward planning, was looking to ways of countering the autumn/winter slowdown with increasing both local patronage and tourist numbers.

·       The first few months of foot traffic data had been received and would be used in an ongoing capacity to assist with planning and looking at patronage trends.

·       The Association was proud of the handbook that had been created for existing and new members which provided information on what the Association offered.

·       Security issues continued to be of concern to members and a WhatsApp group chat for members to communicate on security issues as they happened had been formed, which also offered a member-to-member support system and had proved a vital link to police and security companies.

·       Financials were now audited and up to date; were currently tracking on budget

·       The Association still saw a need for more on-street cameras and would like to progress a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design report to look at other ways safety could be improved.

·       Improved safety measures were still needed in laneways and to slow traffic coming through the main streets of the Mount.

·       The Association had looked towards ambassadors on bikes helping tourists and providing a safe presence on the streets, with a direct line to council and police.

·       Looking ahead, the Association would be working on the strategic plan, having a members’ voice session for a range of topics, a session for Association board members in governance training, and ongoing work as key stakeholders in the development of the Mount strategic plan. Noted the desire, as part of this planning, to keep free parking and help reduce congestion in summer months.

The Association thanked TCC staff member Kendyl Sullivan for her support in developing the handbook, provision of street foot traffic counts and liaising with other groups.

Discussion points raised

·       The Committee acknowledged the long journey the Association had been on and were extremely pleased to see the work they were completing and that the financial records had been audited and were on track.

·       It was noted that the data collected on Eftpos spend would be invaluable for not only the Mount but for individual retailers to utilise.

·       The summer had been a challenging one with adverse weather causing large drops in foot traffic and patronage, contrasted with fine days with large volumes of foot traffic.

·       The idea of ambassadors was still currently a work in progress.

·       The initiative of the old Mount Events Cinema being an events venue of value to the community had grown organically and involved bringing in other groups to grow ideas. The Association was facilitating this process where possible. Feasibility studies were needed. This may include looking to Council as a partner with other organisations.

·       Noted the possibility of shared resourcing with the potential to take these ideas and share them across other Mainstreet organisations.

·       Graffiti was still an ongoing problem, but the Association had had a great response from the contractor to remove graffiti when they were contacted.  Use of the TCC reporting app had been a key for graffiti removal and clearing of overflowing rubbish bins.

·       Regarding the issues of overflowing rubbish bins, extra bins and collections were deployed but over the holiday period in January the bins still overflowed. There was a need for further conversations between the Association, the contractor and Council.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/4

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Stephen Selwood

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Mainstreets' Monitoring Reports for the period 1 July to 31 December 2022 ".

(b)     Receives the Mainstreet Tauranga Report to 31 December 2022

(c)     Receives the Papamoa Unlimited Report to 31 December 2022

(d)     Receives the Greerton Village Community Association Report to 31 December 2022

(e)     Receives the Mount Business Association Report to 31 December 2022

Carried

 

9.3         Adoption of Public Art Framework

Staff          Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

James Wilson, Manager: Arts & Culture

 

Key points

·       Staff provided a brief overview of the strategy and noted that it was now a ‘plan on a page’ designed to encourage public art for the artist community and provide art organisation frameworks for Council staff.

·       The framework was also developed to provide for community input and to encourage public art with the support of both Council and the community.

·       The framework would help to develop the cultural narrative of the city, providing vision and a future development pathway for art works.

 

In response to questions

·       The advisory panel would be appointed by Council and contain at least two local Māori liaison seats.  It was also expected that panel members would consult with local mana whenua and Mainstreet Associations.

 

Discussion points raised

·       The Committee commended the framework for its collaborative approach but was concerned that in the past maintenance of artwork had been haphazard and noted the importance of maintenance plans being in place. These should include looking after the artwork currently in and around the city and reconnecting with the Mainstreet Associations. This would be part of the Advisory Panel’s working brief. 

·       Funding was currently through operational expenditure, but where possible there would be work done to see if there were opportunities for private funding partnerships as well.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/5

Moved:       Commission Chair Anne Tolley

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Adoption of Public Art Framework".

(b)     Adopts the draft public art framework (Appendix 1)

(c)     Establishes a proposed public art fund (“1% for art”), for inclusion in the Long Term Plan as follows:

(i)      Year 1: 0.25% of total eligible capital spend

(ii)      Year 2: 0.5% of total eligible capital spend

(iii)     Year 3: 0.75% of total eligible capital spend

(iv)     Year 4-10: 1% of total eligible capital spend

Carried

 

9.4         Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update

Staff          Sarah Omundsen, General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance

Carl Lucca, Programme Director: Urban Communities

 

Key points

·       Staff noted this was an overview report to update the Committee on the mahi completed in the last three months across relevant projects.

 

In response to questions

·       Work was currently being completed on the industrial plan to be integrated into the wider spatial plan. This included discussion with the Port Authority.

·       The Grenada Street cycling track, Maunganui Road and the destination skate park were still in construction; Grenada Street had an estimated completion time of 4-6 weeks.

·       A steering group had been created which was working with mana whenua to ensure they were integrated into discussions. There was direct liaison with the Mount Mainstreet Association, and Priority One was preparing an early outline of the group’s work which would be presented to Council.

 

Discussion points raised

·       The Committee supported the discussion with the steering group but noted that during engagement a wide range of views from the public must be taken into consideration. The community needed to travel the journey with the steering group and discussion between communities was vital to facilitate better planning.

·       The Committee would like to see the process on paper, highlighting a ‘red risk’ list, timelines of working groups within the steering committee and monitoring of potential gaps within the plan.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/6

Moved:       Commission Chair Anne Tolley

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update".

(b)     Notes the coordination underway and proposed across significant projects in the Mount to Arataki area including tangata whenua, stakeholder, and community engagement related matters. 

(c)     Requests future reporting to the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee includes overview of programme risks and a table summary of programme related projects.

Carried

 

Committee member Dr Wayne Beilby left the meeting at 11.30am.

 

9.5         Refreshed outline plan of Committee's upcoming work programme

Staff          Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Jeremy Boase, Manager: Strategy & Corporate Planning

 

Key points

·       Presently a resource consents policy review was underway, the principal planners would continue with this work given the changes to the Resource Management Act that were progressing through central government.

·       The Gambling Venues Policy was due for review and would be added to the work programme.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/7

Moved:       Commission Chair Anne Tolley

Seconded:  Commissioner Bill Wasley

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Refreshed outline plan of Committee's upcoming work programme".

(b)     Notes the updated outline work programme for the Committee per Attachment 1.

(c)     Adds the review of the Gambling Venues Policy to the work programme.

Carried

 

The meeting adjourned at 11.34am

 

The meeting resumed at 11.39am

 

9.6         Long-term Plan 2021-31 actions tracker

Staff          Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

 

Key points

·       Staff noted that there may be challenges with staffing levels at Audit NZ in May which had implications for the proposed Annual Plan and the next Long-term Plan.

·       Staff would remove from further reports any completed rates postponements.

·       A minor error was corrected on page 137:  Te Ranga reserve should be noted as Work to be Done.

 

In response to questions

·       Blake Park work was not yet complete; there were further alterations to be made.

·       The approximate cost for funding the Gloucester Road work was $4 million. There was community benefit from the project and, as this was an issue of urban growth, could have ongoing benefit to the region, however; the funding issues remained a problem for the Council to consider. There was some potential funding available from central government agencies, but not for the whole budget.

 

Discussion points raised

·       The Committee was pleased with the succinct Kingswood Road update and would receive further updates in future.

·       School water and water tanks could be an area of staff focus for water saving.

·       The Committee wished to see urgency accorded to the work on the Tauriko Hall and a site wide date for completion to be provided to the Committee.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/8

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

         (a)      Receives the Long-term Plan 2021 – Actions Report.

(b)     Notes the progress to date as reported in Attachment 1.

Carried

 

9.7         Second Quarter Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 December 2022

Staff          Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

Kathryn Sharplin, Manager: Finance

Tracey Hughes, Financial Insights & Reporting Manager

 

Key points

·       Staff gave a brief overview of the report following the round table discussion previously held with the Committee.

·       Encroachments onto public land were estimated at 20 cases, of which three had been finished and dealt with.

 

In response to questions

·       Current projects were still on track and on budget, with a clearer budget update to be provided to the Committee in April that would show any effect of recent adverse weather.

·       It was noted that there had been changes to the scope of the Maunganui Road project and, while there had been a cost increase, the value of the project was kept intact and within the funding cap.

·       Stage four of these works would cost Council an estimated $8 million.

 

Discussion points raised

·       The Committee thanked staff for the report and noted that it was a good presentation of the last financial quarter, and that expenses had been signed off with little or no change to operational or capital expenditure projections.

·       The Committee would write to central government ministers again to express their concerns regarding infrastructure spend and planning and the onflow effect this had on housing availability and the ability of the city to grow.

Committee Resolution  SFR2/23/9

Moved:       Commissioner Bill Wasley

Seconded:  Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston

That the Strategy, Finance & Risk Committee:

(a)        Receives the report "Second Quarter Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 December 2022".

Carried

 

10        Discussion of late items

Nil

11        Public excluded session

Nil

 

12        Closing karakia

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston closed the meeting with a karakia.

 

The meeting closed at 12.24pm.

 

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed as a true and correct record at the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting held on 15 May 2023.

 

 

 

...................................................

CHAIRPERSON

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

8          Declaration of conflicts of interest


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9          Business

9.1         Audit Plan for 2023 Annual Report, Fees and Engagement Letter

File Number:           A14438302

Author:                    Sheree Covell, Treasury & Financial Compliance Manager

Authoriser:              Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       This report presents the Audit New Zealand Audit Plan for the year ended 30 June 2023. 

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Audit Plan for 2023 Annual Report, Fees and Engagement Letter".

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       Audit New Zealand have provided their plan for the audit of Tauranga City Council for the year ended 30 June 2023.  The focus for this year continues to be the value and capitalisation of assets as well as three waters reform and reporting of significant financial transactions and non-financial performance measures.

Background

3.       The interim audit for the 2023 financial year will commence on 15 May 2023.  The interim audit focuses on systems and controls.

4.       The final audit is planned to commence on 15 August 2023.  A workshop will be conducted with Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee on 4 September to present the draft 2023 Annual Report and provide an opportunity for commissioners to offer feedback on the content and tone of the document. 

5.       The audit plan for 2023 identifies key matters for attention during the audit for the year ended 30 June 2023.  Focus for this year includes the following:

·    Revaluation of three waters, parks & facilities and airport infrastructure assets

·    Fair value assessment of roading, marine, land and building assets

·    Revaluation of investment property

·    Accounting treatments of major capital projects

·    Three waters reform

·    Funding mechanism for new infrastructure projects (IFF)

·    New council head office building (deferred settlement and lease back)

·    Adoption of PBE FRS 48 Service Performance Reporting

·    The risk of management override of internal controls

6.       Adoption of final annual report will be on 16 October 2023 at Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee.

 

Strategic / Statutory Context

7.       The audit plan is part of the formal process of financial accounting and reporting set out in the Local Government Act 2022.

Options Analysis

8.       There are no options presented in this report.

Financial Considerations

9.       The audit will have confirm and verify that Tauranga City Council has adhered to all appropriate financial reporting standards and legislation when reporting the financial performance and position of Tauranga City Council.

Legal Implications / Risks

10.     There are no specific legal implications or risks as a result of this report.

Consultation / Engagement

11.     There is no consultation required as a result of this report.

Significance

12.     The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.  Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

13.     In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a)   the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b)   any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the matter.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

14.     In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the matter is of low significance.

ENGAGEMENT

15.     Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the matter is of low significance, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.

Next Steps

16.     Commission Chair to sign Audit Engagement Letter

17.     Council staff will engage with Audit New Zealand on the interim and final audits of Tauranga City Council with agreed audit plan.

Attachments

1.       TCC Audit Plan 2023 - A14655938  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

























 


9.2         Quarter 3 Update of Capital Programme, presentations from Delivery Teams

Attachments

Nil

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.3         Q3 Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 March 2023

File Number:           A14644661

Author:                    Kathryn Sharplin, Manager: Finance

Tracey Hughes, Financial Insights & Reporting Manager

Raj Naidu, Corporate Planner

Authoriser:              Paul Davidson, Chief Financial Officer

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       The purpose of this report is to provide information of council’s performance for the first three quarters of the 2022/23 financial year and identify key variances risks and implications for the performance for the year.

2.       This report also includes an overview of the results from the Annual Residents Survey for the third quarter and a summary of initial benchmarking data for spaces and places including facilities. 

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Q3 Financial and Non-Financial Monitoring report to 31 March 2023".

 

 

Executive Summary

3.       This report along with the material in attachment one outlines council’s financial performance against budget for the 9 months to 31 March 2023.

4.       The operating deficit for the 9 months is favourable to budget overall with a smaller than budget net deficit ($12.3m favourable).

5.       However, including budgeted asset development revenue the 9 months result is reported as unfavourable to budget.  Most of the full year forecast variance is due to a change in accounting treatment rather than unfavourable performance. It is due to a change from budget in the accounting treatment of the Tauriko West capital works undertaken by NZTA and partially funded by TCC.  Overall, this contributes $21.6m toward the $30.8m forecast unfavourable result. 

6.       The remaining $9.2m of unfavourable net movements arise from lower revenue across various activities, including some subsidies now not expected to be received in this financial year, and higher transportation operational costs. These are partially offset by some operational costs not occurring in the year.

7.       Capital Expenditure is currently tracking below budget. However, as some projects are tracking more slowly, others have been delivered more quickly or costs have increased so that overall an additional $40m of project budgets have been brought forward into the year from later years under CE delegation or as new budget approved by council.

8.       The level of expenditure across the capital programme and lower revenue from user fees and delays in subsidies and asset sales has put pressure on debt levels relative to budget and on debt servicing costs. 

9.       Attachment 2 presents how Council, and the community are tracking towards achieving Council’s non-financial performance measures and levels of service in Quarter three.

10.     Of the 100 non-financial performance measures, 16 measures (16%) have achieved the annual target, 48 measures (48%) are on track and 26 measures (26%) are off track. Data is not yet available for ten (10%) of measures.

11.     Attachment 3 presents a high-level summary of the wave three results of the Annual Residents Survey.

12.     Attachment 4 provides some high-level expenditure benchmarks in spaces and places including facilities.  These benchmarks indicate that TCC is broadly in line with other councils of a similar size when looking at a per hectare or per playground comparison.  However, there is quite a lot of variation across cities in the amount of green space and playgrounds provided and the data available for comparison either through public documents or the yardstick benchmarking is incomplete and does not allow ready comparisons.

Background

13.     This report is for monitoring and reporting purposes showing Council’s financial and non-financial quarterly performance in delivering services to the community.

14.     The operational budgets were set during the annual plan process with some changes to year two of the Long-term Plan (LTP) to deliver on agreed service levels and capital investment. In an LTP, the level of service that the council will deliver along with operational budgets and the capital investment programme are agreed upon by the council in consultation with the public. Rates and user charges are set based on these budgets.

15.     The Local Government Act 2002 requires local authorities to report on how well they are performing in delivering these levels of service to their communities as measured by the non-financial performance indicators.

16.     In the 2021-31 LTPA there were 100 KPIs that were agreed upon, 23 of which are mandatory measures as per section 261B of the Local Government Act.

17.     Council requested some information on benchmarking against other councils. In the December quarterly report high-level benchmarks were provided for transportation and three waters.  The spaces and places benchmarks have taken more time to put together because of limited available information and the significant variation in the services included in budgets and the size of areas and facilities provided. 

Strategic / Statutory Context

18.     Maintaining expenditure within budget ensures delivery of services in a financially sustainable way.

19.     Monitoring non-financial performance is a key function of the committee.

Discussion

Part 1: Financial Performance

20.     The financial results for the first 9 months of the financial year are presented in Attachment 1. The results to date are favourable to budget in terms of operational revenue and expenditure recording a deficit of $17.9m, which is $12.3m favourable to budget.  However, once Asset Development Revenue is included the overall surplus is $88m year to date, which is $14m unfavourable to budget. 

21.     Most of this result is not due to poor financial performance but instead is caused by a change in accounting treatment to that assumed in the budget.  A portion of the Tauriko West capital programme is State Highway rather than local road works and are to be delivered by Waka Kotahi.  As a result, the projects initially budgeted as capital have now been recognised as operational expenditure. This has resulted in an additional $4.1m of operating deficit. The deficit created by this treatment is not intended to be rate funded. The change in delivery of Tauriko West is forecast to reduce the reported year end surplus by $21.6m.  This is because along with the forecast $6m net operational expenditure there is a loss of NZTA capital subsidy revenue of $15.6m.

Revenue Variance

22.     Operating revenue is forecast to be slightly ahead of budget only due to the accounting treatment of Tauriko West.  User fee revenue is significantly below budget.  Key areas of lower revenue include building services and environmental planning where volumes have been reducing and in the case of planning, delays in consents processing have led to higher than budgeted discounts, parking revenue has been down due to the extension of the free parking trial and airport revenue is still recovering post covid.

23.     Rates revenue is under budget year to date and forecast to be $4.8m in total under budget for the full year.  This reflects lower than expected water by meter revenue due to reduced consumption, and lower rates to be charged to properties as a result of challenges to values resulting from the last property valuation.

24.     Subsidies and grants are an area of increasing focus as we strive to identify sources of funding other than the ratepayer. Attachment 1 also provides an overview of how we are tracking against budgets for both operating and capital subsidies, noting that where forecast subsidies are forecast to not be received by year end they are expected to be received in 2023-24.

 

Expenditure Variance

25.     Operational expenditure shows a year-to-date positive variance of $7.5m.  By year end this variance is expected to be unfavourable as community grants are paid and the operational costs of projects including digital projects and the Civic precinct are brought to charge as operational rather than capital.  Transportation is the main activity where an unfavourable operating result is recorded.  The cost pressure on the transportation activity has been reported to council, which has approved over-spend to budget on transport operations and maintenance costs through to the end of the year ($5.5m).  Benchmarking analysis provided in December had indicated that prior to recognising these additional costs TCC expenditure was tracking significantly below comparator councils.

26.     Personnel expenses are on budget year to date and are forecast to be $1.8m over budget for the full year as vacancies are filled by permanent staff or contractors at higher rates and a concentration of staff time in the preliminary project stages is unable to be capitalised.  Capitalised salaries (which reduce the reported expenditure) are considerably behind budget and further work is underway to ensure the correct level of capitalisation occurs. Even so, capitalisation is expected to be under budget at year end, generating the forecast negative variance in Personnel expenses.

27.     Consultants are $4.8m under budget year to date. This is largely in the City & Infrastructure Planning activity which has forecast $1.4m under budget for the full year.

28.     Depreciation is over budget due to the very large roading revaluation in 2022.

29.     Other operational expenditure is underspent particularly in community contributions and grants (timing of grants particularly for Community Partnerships, BVL and Bay Oval) and operational costs (slower expenditure for biosolids disposal, software licenses and general operational costs). 

 

Full Year Forecasts

30.     Full year forecasts have now been assessed for both capital and operational costs and reflect the ongoing impacts of Tauriko West, increased interest rates, the 2022 asset revaluation and salaries capitalisation.

Overall, the full year surplus is forecast at $91m, which is $31m below that budgeted.  Exlcuding the impact of Tauriko West the surplus is forecast to be $9m less than budgeted.

 

Overall the biggest drivers of the deficit increase are:

(a)     Tauriko West change in accounting treatment and programme timing $21m

(b)     Net borrowing costs $2.6m greater due to higher interest costs and higher borrowing levels

(c)     Depreciation $5.3m greater than budget mainly in tansportation

(d)     Transport costs $6.4m increase including maintenance contract, mowing level of service increase greater than budget  and capitalisation below budget

(e)     Community contributions and grants $3.9m not paid out by year end

(f)      Various other differences across revenue and expenditure largely offset each other.  They are summarised in Attachment 1.

31.     Higher expenditure in rate funded transportation will also put pressure on the year end rates position.

 

Capital

32.     Capital delivery has continued to ramp up in the third quarter with the spend for March recorded at $40.6m. 

33.     The annual plan budget was set at $298m.  Attachment 2 records the overall upward revision in budgets of $77m which means that even though some annual plan projects have been delayed (valued at about $79m).  Other projects have been undertaken to replace this spend so that overall we expect to spend $296m.  Overall, these adjustments primarily represent movement in timing of projects across the LTP years and some strategic land purchases.

34.     In summary, the capital programme budget has been revised up by $77m throughout the year including:

(a)     carryforwards from 2022 ($23.3m),

(b)     bring forward of budget from later years of LTP ($27.5m),

(c)     cost increases on existing projects ($2.2m) and

(d)     new projects approved by council relating to airport, strategic land purchase and the SH2 Wairoa Bridge ($22m). 

(e)     Movements to reflect adjustments including the Waka Kotahi delivery of Tauriko west projects and elder housing sale delays.

35.     Transportation spend year to date is ahead of budget reflecting Cameron Road Stage 1 capital works forecast to be $5.6m ahead of budget due to both cost and timing differences.  Te Manawatake O Te Papa which is delivering slower than budget and forecast to be $19m behind revised budget by year end.  Similarly, the Te Maunga Transfer Station redevelopment is tracking behind budget and forecast to be $6.6m behind revised budget.  These projects will continue through 2023-24.

 

Borrowing and Debt

36.     The level of expenditure across the capital programme and lower revenue from user fees and delays in subsidies and asset sales has put pressure on debt levels relative to budget and on debt servicing costs.  It is forecast the debt to revenue position at year end will increase by 16% over budget to 220% which is still within limits (295% in 2023).  The cost of borrowing has increased particularly for short-term borrowing with longer term borrowing rates beginning to track back down to earlier levels (under 4%0 which puts less pressure on our average cost of borrowing which is currently 4.29%.

 

Benchmarking – Spaces and Places

37.     Further work has been undertaken to assess available benchmarking information with other councils for spaces and places including facilities (BVL).  For these activities there are no standardised benchmarks across the local government sector unlike for waters and transportation.  There is also inconsistency in what services are included in this activity group and in the level of service provided.  The attached benchmarks have reported on total spend as provided in funding impact statements and some level of service data available through annual reports. Overall Tauranga Council provides more land area in open space and when costs are adjusted for land area and population appears to be within a competitive range.

 

Part 2: Non-Financial Performance to March 2023

38.     Attachment 2 presents how Council, and the community are tracking towards achieving Council’s non-financial performance measures and levels of service.

39.     Of the 100 non-financial performance measures, 16 measures (16%) have achieved the annual target, 48 measures (48%) are on track and 26 measures (26%) are off track. Data is not yet available for ten (10%) of measures.

40.     Where data is not available, the majority relate to annual measures which are only surveyed at one point through the year.

41.     26 measures, across 11 groups of activities, are off-track. In detail, these are:

·     Regulatory and Compliance – nine off-track from 17 measures

·     Community Services – five off-track from 20 measures

·     Transportation – three off-track from nine measures

·     Community, People and Relationships – two off-track from six measures

·     Stormwater – one off-track from six measures

·     Sustainability and Waste – one off-track from four measures

·     City and Infrastructure Planning – one off-track from three measures

·     Economic Development – one off-track from eight measures

·     Marine Precinct – one off-track from three measures

·     Emergency Management – one off-track from three measures

·     Spaces and Places – one off-track from five measures.

 

Part 3: Annual Residents Survey

42.     The Annual Residents’ Survey supports non-financial reporting by measuring the perceptions of residents regarding various aspects of services that Council provides.

43.     The survey is conducted in four waves across the year.  Each wave's mail out quotas are applied according to age, gender and ward, to ensure that a representative sample of Tauranga City’s population is achieved. The data is weighted to account for variances in the achieved quotas and to ensure that the sample reflects the population profile achieved.

44.     The overall results have an anticipated margin of error of +/- 4.6% at the 95% confidence level. Scores for the reporting periods exclude 'Don't know' responses.

45.     A summary of the highlights is attached at Attachment 3. The summary helps provide an insight into how different elements of Council’s core service deliverables, reputation and the perception of value for money contribute to respondents’ perception of Council’s overall performance.

46.     Overall performance, the year-to-date result is 38% of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with Tauranga City Council in general, which is up from the 32% result from 2021/22. 

47.     Reputation measures the community’s perception of four key areas – leadership, faith and trust, financial management and quality of services/facilities. Under reputation, the year-to-date result is that 29% of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied, up from the full year result for 2021/22 which was 23%.

48.     Within reputation, there is the measure in terms of respondent’s trust in Council, the year-to-date result is that 29% of respondents are satisfied or very satisfied, up from the full year result for 2021/22 which was 24%.

49.     A summary of the rest of the high-level survey results of the 2021/22 full year compared to the year-to-date result for 2022/23, and their trend is summarised in the table below:

Measure

2021/22 result

2022/23 YTD

Trend

Overall performance

32%

38%

5

Overall image and reputation

23%

29%

5

Overall value for money

36%

36%

=

Overall core services deliverables

56%

59%

5

Overall water management

55%

54%

6

Overall road and footpaths

44%

31%

6

Overall waste management

63%

71%

5

Overall outdoor spaces

73%

65%

6

Overall public facilities

70%

70%

=

 

50.     The final wave is due to be collected in May 2023 with the results retuned in June 2023, and a performance report scheduled to be submitted to this committee in the August 2023 meeting.

Options Analysis

51.     There are no options associated with this report. The report is provided as information only.

Financial Considerations

52.     This report monitors performance to budget to ensure council delivers on proposed expenditure within allocated budgets to ensure financial sustainability and accountability.

Legal Implications / Risks

53.     This monitoring report has no specific legal implications or risks.

Consultation / Engagement

54.     This report is made public.

Significance

55.     The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.  Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

56.     In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a)   the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b)   any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the matter.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

57.     In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the matter is of low significance.

ENGAGEMENT

58.     Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the matter is of low significance, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.

Next Steps

59.     This report ensures monitoring of Council performance to ensure compliance with Council’s budgets, policies and delegations.  The non-financial monitoring report summary will be presented on the Council website. 

Attachments

1.       Financial Report  -  9 Months to 3 March 2023 - A14667089

2.       Quarter 3 Non-Financial Performance Off Track Measures Report - A14652547

3.       Annual Residents Survey Wave 3 Performance Report - A14652544

4.       Benchmarking - Parks - 2022 Data Yardstick & FIS - A14665577  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 










Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 
















Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 










Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 



Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.4         Traffic and Parking Bylaw Review Issues and Options Paper

File Number:           A14500675

Author:                    Vicky Grant-Ussher, Policy Analyst

Authoriser:              Nic Johansson, General Manager: Infrastructure

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       To provide direction on the issues identified through the review of the Traffic and Parking Bylaw.

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Traffic and Parking Bylaw Review Issues and Options Paper".

(b)     Agrees to the following recommended options for the purpose of updating the bylaw, including:

(i)     removing redundant provisions now covered under relevant legislation to reflect legislative updates since the last review

(ii)    introducing a registered parking category to better monitor time-limited parking

(iii)   clarifying that secondary vehicle crossings require written council approval.

(c)     Confirms that primary vehicle crossings which comply with the Infrastructure Development Code do not need council permission.

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       An analysis of the Traffic and Parking bylaw[1] has shown the bylaw is working well to enable a responsive approach to traffic and parking issues in Tauranga. Several changes are recommended to futureproof the bylaw to refresh legislative references, better monitor free parking, and address issues with vehicle crossings.

Background

3.       The Traffic and Parking Bylaw sets the requirements for control of traffic and parking in respect of roads, parking places and transport stations owned or controlled by Tauranga City Council. The bylaw is one of several legal instruments that supports the council in its role as a road controlling authority. The bylaw must be reviewed every ten years, the last review of the bylaw was in 2012.

4.       The current bylaw is made under both the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) and the Land Transport Act 1998 (LTA). The LGA provides a bylaw making power where the council believes it is the most appropriate way to address nuisances, protect, promote, or maintain public health and safety and/or minimise the potential for offensive behaviour in public places. The LTA provides a bylaw making power to regulate road-related matters and, unlike the LGA, allows for enforcement through infringement fines in addition to prosecution.

5.       The bylaw provides a framework for decisions with the substance of many provisions being made subsequently by resolution. For example, the bylaw gives Council the power to specify which roads are one way only, but the specific roads would be decided by Council resolution. This allows council to change specific decisions quickly without the need for a full bylaw review.

6.       We spoke to council regulatory staff, transportation staff, asset services staff, legal staff, utility companies and parking experts in other councils as part of reviewing the effectiveness of the current bylaw. Their feedback has informed the issues and options contained in this report.

Strategic / Statutory Context

7.       Tauranga City Council is committed to sustainability as a core way of how we work. Traffic and parking management can help influence and enable more sustainable transport choices, for example through regulating what types of vehicles and activities can use roads and carparks. Council adopted a Parking Strategy in 2021 and is in the process of developing more detailed parking management plans for Tauranga, with a finalised plan for the city centre already adopted and a plan for Mount Maunganui under development. Traffic and parking management also contributes to achieving the community outcome Tauranga Ara Rau, a city we can move around easily.

 

8.       The bylaw helps give effect to these strategies and plans through setting traffic and parking rules and enabling their enforcement. The bylaw enables many traffic and parking rules to be implemented, as needed, by Council resolution.

Options Analysis

Issue 1: Updating bylaw provisions to account for legislative changes

9.       Since the bylaw review in 2012, several legislative instruments have been updated which means that some matters no longer need to be covered in the bylaw. For example, the update to the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits in 2022. In addition to these changes, a review of the bylaw has also noted some additional redundant provisions that are covered by road user rules or sections of the LTA. A table of the redundant provisions is provided in Attachment 1. We propose updating the bylaw to remove redundant provisions and refreshing wording where possible to better align with the updated legislation.  

Table One: Updating bylaw provisions to account for legislative changes

Option

Advantages

Disadvantage

Recommendation

Option One: Status Quo – No update of provisions

·    None

·    Retains redundant provisions

Not recommended

Option Two: Update of bylaw provisions to account for legislative changes

·    Removes redundant provisions from the bylaw

·    None

Recommended

 

Issue 2: Introducing a registered parking category to better monitor time-limited parking

10.     Different categories of parking are used to promote different outcomes across the city. For example, paid parking uses price to manage demand, whereas time-limited free parking is used to create a turnover of parking spaces. These parking outcomes are only achieved if people comply with the parking rules.

11.     At present the council has either paid parking, free time-limited parking or free unlimited parking. Compliance with paid parking is high, as anyone who has not paid for parking may be subject to a fine. As people are required to provide their plate number to pay it is easy to identify non-compliance through automated machines which match car plates with payment records.

12.     Monitoring free time-limited parking is less straightforward. Under the current bylaw people cannot be required to enter their plate number to access free parking, however they must not exceed the time limit. This approach makes monitoring the time used difficult. Regulation staff must undertake ongoing visual checks of parking spaces to ensure people comply with the time limit.

13.     A “registered parking” category would help council monitor time-limited parking. “Registered parking” would require people to register their plate to park (even if the parking is free). Council could then declare by resolution (subject to appropriate consultation and signage) that an area be a registered parking area. This would require users to register at a parking machine, enabling the easy time monitoring of use through the existing pay by plate enforcement system. Those that do not register may be subject to a fine (similar to paid parking). Given this would be a new approach to parking, a significant communications exercise, including comprehensive on street signage, would need to be undertaken to support any use of this provision.

14.     This new registered parking requirement would support the council to take innovative approaches to parking in future without enforcement concerns. For example, supporting incremental parking charging where an initial period is free but then a charge would apply at a certain period, and increase over time.

Table Two: Registered parking provisions in the bylaw

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

Recommendation

Option One: Status Quo - do not include an ability to require people to register at a parking machine in the bylaw

·    Does not require people to register at a machine for time-limited parking

·    Would be difficult to monitor the use of any time-limited free parking provisions

·    May limit the use of time-limited free parking provisions due to monitoring issues

Not recommended

Option Two: include a new registered parking requirement

·    Would mean the use of time-limited free parking can be easily monitored

·    Helps ensure parking spaces are used as intended to achieve parking outcomes

·    Potential for confusion if people are not aware they need to register

·    Would require people to register at a machine for time limited parking

Recommended

 

Issue 3: Including mobile traders in the bylaw

15.     In 2021, regulatory staff had issues with unlicenced Christmas tree sellers causing traffic disturbances. The mobile traders refused to comply with regulatory staff requests to move to less dangerous sites and existing enforcement options did not provide a deterrent[2].

16.     At the 14 February 2022 Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting, the committee directed staff to investigate if including mobile shop traders in the Traffic and Parking bylaw would allow staff to issue fines under the LTA. An investigation into the issue has found that while mobile shops could be included in the bylaw, there would be difficultly defending any infringement fees as fees must be linked to the use of vehicles or parking offences, rather than trading. Whilst the mobile trader is a vehicle, it is not the use of the vehicle causing the traffic disturbance, rather the action of trading from it. Following this investigation, no changes are proposed to mobile trading.

 

Issue 4: Vehicle crossings requirements in the bylaw

Secondary vehicle crossings

17.     A vehicle crossing is the section of driveway from the front of the property boundary to the roadway. As the landowner of the road corridor, the council requires property owners to apply for a secondary vehicle crossing. Because road berms are public land and primarily for public use, the council will assess secondary vehicle crossings requests to ensure they are warranted and will not negatively impact the streetscape or pedestrian way. Currently we receive applications for around 10-20 secondary crossings at residential properties and 40-60 for industrial or commercial properties. Whilst it is difficult to know the numbers that are not informing council, the transport team estimate that around another 20 secondary crossings may be installed without council approval each year.

18.     The policy position on secondary vehicle crossings was previously outlined in a vehicle crossing policy. However, this policy was rescinded on adoption of the Infrastructure Development Code as many of the matters it contained were now included in the code, with the exception of secondary vehicle crossings. As this is not stated formally in any policy or bylaw, many community members are not aware of this requirement, creating unnecessary confusion.

Table Four: Secondary vehicle crossings

Option

Advantages

Disadvantage

Recommendation

Option One: Status Quo no statement in bylaw on secondary vehicle crossing

·    None

·    Is unclear for the community what the council position is on secondary crossings

·    Options for enforcement are more complex

Not recommended

Option Two: Clarify that secondary crossing require written council permission

·    Clarifies to the community the council position on secondary crossings

·    Provides a clear enforcement avenue should people install unpermitted vehicle crossings

·    None

Recommended

 

Council permission for vehicle crossings

19.     Currently the bylaw requires property owners to get permission for a vehicle crossing when that vehicle crossing does not meet the Infrastructure Development Code requirements. Instead, property owners must gain council approval through a Service Connection Application (a vehicle crossing application). The reasons for not meeting the Infrastructure Development Code vary, but examples include proximity to street infrastructure, the sight lines from the crossing, or the desire to adjust the level of the berm. In these cases, the transport team will work with the property owner to work out where a vehicle crossing can be appropriately accommodated.

20.     Property owners are sometimes unaware that the planned vehicle crossing will not meet the Infrastructure Development Code and don’t submit a vehicle crossing application. The building consent team try to pick up these omissions at the building consent stage, but occasionally they are missed. Common issues include:

·        when house building starts in developments before infrastructure placement is confirmed resulting in infrastructure clashing with the planned vehicle crossing area

·        when there is a need to raise or lower the berm to facilitate access to the property

·        planned, but not yet built transport improvements, such as adding a footpath or traffic island, which may impact the appropriateness of vehicle crossing designs.

21.     These situations can be stressful to remedy as often the issue is picked up at the vehicle crossing inspection close to the planned completion dates. Changes to the layout of the property on the site to accommodate an alternate vehicle crossing at this point are extremely difficult, costly, and time-consuming. In these situations, the transport team will do their best to work with property owners to come to a workable solution.

Table Five: Council permission for vehicle crossings 

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

Recommendation

Option One: Status Quo: Vehicle crossing that comply with Infrastructure Development Code do not need permission

·    Most vehicle crossings are progressed quickly without issues

·    This approach has a low administrative and compliance cost as only approximately 150 of the about 1,000 vehicle crossings installed annually require council permission

·    Continue to have issues with a small number of vehicle crossings (around 10-12 per year) which may require high staff resource to resolve and possible costs to council or sub-optimal outcomes

Recommended

Option Two: Use the bylaw to require permission for all vehicle crossings

·    Would address issues where property owners/developers are not aware of future infrastructure plans that could impact a vehicle crossing

·    Would increase resource to check approximately 1,000 vehicle crossings at an additional charge of approximately $100 per build

·    Would increase time to build if property owners await approval as recommended

Not recommended – Given the small proportion of vehicle crossing issues does not justify the cost and delay to property owners

 

Financial Considerations

22.     Including Option Two of Table Two in the bylaw would not have an initial cost. However, any use of the provision would have communications costs and require changes to street signage as noted in paragraph 13.

23.     Option Two of Table Five to address vehicle crossing issues would have operational costs for council due to the additional administrative work involved. Currently the transport team process vehicle crossing applications around other priority projects. The increased scale of requests under Option Two would require a more dedicated resource. Council could consider increasing the fee charged for vehicle crossing applications to cover this cost.

24.     There are no financial implications for the other proposed changes to the bylaw.

Legal Implications / Risks

25.     The bylaw is outside of the ten-year statutory review period. Under the LGA, if a revised bylaw is not adopted by October 2024 (two years after the ten-year limit is reached) the current bylaw will expire. Until reviewed (or October 2024 whichever is the earlier) the current bylaw remains operable and enforceable.

Consultation / Engagement

26.     In addition to the Special Consultative Procedure requirements, we will undertake some targeted consultation on proposed changes with those groups likely to be impacted by the changes. Targeted groups would include:

·        utility providers

·        developers

·        builders.

 

27.     We are also reviewing several road-related policies with the aim of consulting on these policies alongside the bylaw review. This includes policies related to licences to occupy road reserves, airspace and subsoil and the use of berms for planting and parking. The planned date for the combined consultation is from mid-August to mid-September.

Significance

28.     The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy.  Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.

29.     In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:

(a)   the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region

(b)   any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the issue.

(c)   the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.

30.     In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the issue is of low significance.

Next Steps

31.     The selected options will be incorporated into a draft bylaw and Statement of Proposal for consultation. This draft will be provided to the 7 August 2023, Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting for approval for consultation.

Attachments

1.       Redundant provisions in the Traffic and Parking Bylaw - A14633360  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 



Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.5         Growth & Land Use Projects Progress Report - May 2023

File Number:           A14351868

Author:                    Andy Mead, Manager: City Planning & Growth

Authoriser:              Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       Tauranga City is continuing to experience rapid growth.  Managing this growth is a significant issue for Council.  The report enables the Committee to monitor progress on key projects relating to managing growth in a sustainable manner, including land use planning projects and related transport, infrastructure and funding workstreams.

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Growth & Land Use Projects Progress Report - May 2023".

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       Managing growth is a significant issue for Council, particularly the challenge of ensuring growth is sustainable in a four well-beings context for both current and future communities.

3.       The attached report outlines the progress being made in relation to a number of projects necessary to manage this continued growth.  This information is also regularly reported to the SmartGrowth partners.

Key Updates

4.       The key points to note in this update are outlined in the paragraphs below.

Plan Change 33 and Spatial Plans

5.       Plan Change 33 to implement the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) and intensification around centres is progressing.  Due to the complexity of the Plan Change and further technical work required to respond to submissions, current timeframes are challenging and are unlikely to be workable.  Given these factors, the Council applied in writing to the Minister for the Environment on 3 May 2023 for a variation to the Direction to amend the date to notify the decisions on the IHP’s recommendation. Following this, the Chair of the IHP released Direction #3 on 5 May 2023, which advised that PPC33 be split into two hearing sessions scheduled for July and October.

6.       The Ōtūmoetai Spatial Plan was reported to the 1 May Council meeting for final adoption.

7.       The Mount Spatial Plan and Mount Industrial Planning Study have significantly advanced.  These have been the subject of separate more detailed reporting through Council.

Housing and Business Land Assessment

8.       The SmartGrowth Housing and Business Assessment (HBA) for the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region has been completed.  The outcomes of the revised HBA reinforce the significant and growing shortage of residential development capacity in the short, medium and long-term.  The HBA also identifies shortages in the Western Bay of Plenty District which adjoins Tauranga City and is part of the same Tier 1 growth area.  The outcomes for Tauranga City are summarised as follows with numbers rounded to the nearest 100 and shortages shown as negative numbers in red text:

 

 

Period

Year

Housing shortage/surplus within each period

Cumulative housing shortage from today

Existing

0

-4,300 to -5,300

-4,300 to -5,300

Short term

1-3

-1,400

-5,700 to -6,700

Medium term

4-10

-1,600

-7,300 to -8,300

Long term

11-30

2,000

-5,300 to -6,300

Total

0-30

-5,300 to -6,300

 

 

9.       Housing shortages are now shown to extend into the long-term period.  Previously we had assessed that they could be resolved before the end of the medium term.

10.     There are significant risks that the housing shortage will be greater than anticipated.  In particular, early indications are that intensification across the Te Papa peninsular will be less than projected due to rising costs of vertical construction and associated commercial and buildability risks.

11.     Unsurprisingly the housing pressures in Tauranga have created significant house price escalation and unaffordability, including an extreme house price to income ratio of approximately 11 which is higher than Auckland and any other location in New Zealand.  There have been some modest price declines of late but not to the extent seen in places like Auckland and Wellington.

Non-residential development capacity

12.     The revised HBA also identifies medium and long-term industrial and commercial/retail land shortages for Tauranga City.  The following table summarises the industrial shortfall.

 

Tauranga Sufficiency
Based on vacant land

Surplus/deficit Range (ha)

Local Densities

General Densities

Including competitiveness margin

Short-term

Commercial and retail

10

10

Industrial

70

70

Medium-term

Commercial and retail

-20

-20

Industrial

10

-10

Long-term

Commercial and retail

-60

-60

Industrial

-220

-270

 

13.     While the industrial land shortages are not immediate, they are being felt today due to the long lead time to zone, service and develop industrial land into completed industrial sections ready to build on. 

14.     Within Tauranga City we have 100ha of land identified for industrial development as an extension to the Tauriko Business Estate.  Constraints on the State Highway network are limiting the development of about 60ha of this land.

15.     Beyond this there are no suitable sites for further industrial development within Tauranga City’s small and highly constrained jurisdictional boundaries, and these shortages will have to be accommodated in the adjoining Western Bay District or further afield.  SmartGrowth is currently investigating locational options.  Due to the specific requirements of industrial land requiring large flat greenfield sites close to key transport routes and an available workforce, it is safe to say that options will be few.  Some of these options will also be constrained by limitations in the State Highway network, particularly SH29.

16.     In terms of the commercial / retail shortages we primarily intend to address these by rezoning land for new commercial centres as new greenfield areas are progressed.

Advising the Minister

17.     As required, Commissioners have written to the Minister for the Environment to advise of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) development capacity non-compliance issues as we did when similar issues were identified in 2021.  Our letter has reiterated the need for urgent attention to these issues.  In a number of areas are reliant on government policy or investment – such as the investment required in the Tauriko SH29 to support development of that area.

SmartGrowth Strategy 2023

18.     Work is well underway to update the SmartGrowth Strategy which will also include the 30-year Future Development Strategy (FDS) requirements of the NPS-UD.  The FDS is required to show how sufficient development capacity will be provided over the next 30 years and thus will need to demonstrate how the residential and business shortages identified in the HBA will be resolved, including consideration of development opportunities in the Western and Eastern Corridors. 

19.     The industrial land component is the subject of a SmartGrowth consultant report which is near completion.  This report identifies possible future locational options for industrial land.  These options are limited, and all have constraints and challenges to resolve.  This work will be reported up in the near future and it is expected that more detailed assessment of preferred sites would be required to support decision making through the SmartGrowth Strategy update.

Western Corridor

20.     The Western Corridor remains a priority focus, progress includes:

(a)     Advancing technical reports and commencing the drafting of planning provisions and s32 assessment for the Tauriko West plan change (as a variation to PC33).  While significant progress has been made some technical work has been delayed such as flood modelling.  This has implications for notification of the Plan Change, with September 2023 now looking more realistic than previous June 2023 timeframes.

(b)     The SmartGrowth Leadership Group has agreed that land use and infrastructure planning for the Western Corridor should be undertaken to ensure long-term opportunities are enabled based on a revised and higher assessment of development potential based on higher densities.  They have also agreed that the Specified Development Project assessment for the Western Corridor led by Kāinga Ora should assess the wider development opportunity rather than just more immediate growth opportunities, noting that parties including BOPRC have raised some issues that need to be considered and addressed as part of this work such as climate change, natural hazards and highly productive soils.

(c)     The private plan change for the Tauriko Business Estate extension in Belk Road is progressing but have been delayed, largely due to stormwater and flooding modelling and assessments.  This are similar to the issues being faced in Tauriko West and in the Upper Ohauiti private plan change. We still envisage notifying these private plan changes later this calendar year.

(d)     Construction of the Tauriko West enabling works is due to commence in September this year.  There are some risks to be managed including consenting timeframes and locking in the developer funding share at a time when feasibility is challenged by current market conditions and uncertainty around development progressing beyond the first 2,000 homes.  These issues are being actively managed across Council departments and with external Partners and other parties.  Any substantial delay to construction is likely to create further cost escalation risks that may not be able to be managed within existing budgets and external funding commitments.

(e)     Waka Kotahi continues to work on the long-term transport business case for the Western Corridor / SH29 area.  Progress remains slower than anticipated.  This investment is a key catalyst for development of the Western Corridor at scale and without it development opportunities will remain highly constrained, including effects on growth areas signalled for development in the near-term (Tauriko West, Tauriko Business Estate and Keenan Road).  This is a significant concern.  Next steps involve discussions around Waka Kotahi’s proposed staging of investment.

Te Tumu

21.     Progress in Te Tumu has been positive since the last update.  The beneficial owners of the TK14 Māori Land Block voted in favour of negotiating with TCC on the delivery of infrastructure corridors through their land which would support urban development of their land and the wider Te Tumu area.  This will enable TCC to recommence wider Tangata Whenua engagement for the Te Tumu project.  In addition, progress to deliver the Papamoa East Interchange remains on track – this is a key catalyst for development of Te Tumu and the adjoining Wairakei Town Centre.

2022 SmartGrowth Development Trends Report

22.     The 2022 SmartGrowth Development Trends report was released in February 2023 for the year ending 30 June 2022. It is produced annually by the SmartGrowth partners for the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region. The report contains subdivision, residential and non-residential development and population trends within Tauranga City and the Western Bay of Plenty District.

23.    The partner Councils collect the development statistics as part of the monitoring requirements under the Resource Management Act 1991, SmartGrowth, Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement, and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development. The full 2022 Development Trends report is available on the Council website here.

24.    Key findings for Tauranga City for the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 are as follows:

a)   1,252 additional dwellings units were consented in 2021/22, a decline of 15% (227 dwellings) from the 2020/21 results.

b)   More than three quarters (77.5%) of the dwellings consented were located in the Greenfield urban growth areas (UGAs), 22% in the existing urban areas and less than 1% (5 dwellings) in the rural areas.

c)    Since 2017/18 subdivision activity has declined and reached its lowest level in 2021/22 at 457 new lots created. It declined by 35% (241 lots) compared to the previous year.

d)   Average dwelling selling price (12 month rolling average) increased by 17.5% to $981,250 in the last 12 months to 30 June 2022.

e)   Average dwelling rent (12 month rolling average) increased by 7.7% to $585 in the last 12 months to 30 June 2022.

f)    More than 70% of the dwellings consented were single level dwellings, 23% had 2 storeys and 6% had 3 to 4 storeys. 

g)    Estimated remaining UGA capacity was 7,100 dwellings as at 30 June 2022, 25% of the estimated total UGA yield.

h)   Wairakei (Papamoa East) UGA had the highest percentage of capacity remaining. 

 

25.     Dwelling consent issue from July 1997 to June 2022 is graphed below.

26.     From July 2022 to March 2023 a further 681 dwelling units were consented for Tauranga City indicating a continuance of this downward trend observed in 2021/22.  This is consistent with the economic and property market downturn which is underway.  Group building companies are reporting a drastic downturn in enquiries and sales of new homes and a number of development projects are being deferred or stopped entirely, including some intensification projects where development sites are now marketed for resale. 

27.     History has shown that these types of downturns are cyclical, and that growth does return to strong levels as the market improves.  As such from a strategic growth planning perspective the current climate does not impact the need to plan for growth continuing in the future as projected.

Strategic / Statutory Context

28.     The projects covered in this report are framed under the strategic direction of SmartGrowth and UFTI, the proposed Future Development Strategy, the 30-year Infrastructure Strategy and Long-Term Plan.

Options Analysis

29.     There is no options analysis; this report is for information only.

Significance

30.     While growth is a significant issue for Tauranga City, this report does not require any decisions and is not significant in itself.

Next Steps

31.     Council will continue to progress the projects and works as identified in the report attachments.

Attachments

1.       Appendix A - Quarterly Update - Growth, Land Use Planning and Transport Strategy Projects - May 2023 - A14352330  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 
























 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.6         Wairoa River Valley Strategy review - project update

File Number:           A13349274

Author:                    Anne Payne, Principal Strategic Advisor

Authoriser:              Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       This report provides a project update on the review of the joint Wairoa River Valley Strategy, based on the 5 April 2023 combined councils’ report to the SmartGrowth Leadership Group.

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the Wairoa River Valley Strategy review project update report.

(b)     Endorses the approach to:

(i)       Retain the current strategy with an intent to review when the freshwater management plan change process is complete.

(ii)      Develop and widely promote a ‘strategy on a page’ for the Wairoa River Valley Strategy.

(iii)     Support the connections between Tauranga Moana Iwi/Hapū and the Regional Council so that Iwi/Hapū are able to participate in the planned National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) hui

(iv)     In early 2026, with our Iwi/Hapū partners, assess what is needed to fill any remaining gaps for the Wairoa River Valley area.

 

 

Executive Summary

1.       A combined councils’ report to the SmartGrowth Leadership Group on 5 April 2023 provides a comprehensive summary of the background, related projects and status of the Wairoa River Valley Strategy review project.  This report was requested by the Tauranga City Council Chief Executive, and is provided as Attachment 1 to this report. 

2.       We intend to provide the same report to the next available Tauranga Moana Advisory Group meeting scheduled for September 2023, in response to their September 2022 request.  Key points are summarised below:

Background

3.       A review of the 2013 Wairoa River Valley Strategy was programmed in response to 2018 Long-term Plan submissions to Western Bay of Plenty District Council.  Scoping of the strategy review commenced in early 2021 and identified that:

·    The local hapū view was that reviewing and updating the current strategy would not be enough – that the desired outcome is a comprehensive and sustainable approach for the whole of the Wairoa River catchment, and recognition of the kaitiaki role of tangata whenua in this.

·    Iwi and hapū input to the national freshwater management changes being implemented through the Regional Council would contribute significantly to achieving desired outcomes for the Wairoa River catchment.  This could then inform the management strategy for the much smaller Wairoa River Valley area, covered by the strategy.

·    Therefore, initial effort might be better focused on supporting Tauranga Moana hapū/iwi as the Regional Council’s freshwater management engagement with tangata whenua rolled out during 2022-2023.  This engagement is critical as the results will be incorporated into a draft regional freshwater plan change in early 2024, which impacts on future city and district plans. As noted in the previous point, the engagement results would also provide consistent information to incorporate into a review of the Wairoa River Valley Strategy.

·    The aspirations and principles of the current Wairoa River Valley Strategy are still valid today, and should be retained and more widely communicated in the interim.

4.       Council staff concluded that a phased approach to the strategy review would best deliver the outcomes sought, while avoiding duplication of hapū/iwi input across the Regional Council’s freshwater management process and a joint councils’ strategy review process – noting that these were scheduled to roll out at the same time during 2022.

5.       The strategy review project team arranged follow up hui for Regional Council to engage the Wairoa River Hapū representatives on the freshwater management process.  The first hui was delivered in November 2021, however the follow-on in early 2022 did not eventuate.

6.       This Committee received a status update report on 13 December 2021.  On 15 September 2022, Western Bay of Plenty District Council resolved to take a staged approach to the strategy review after informally testing the proposal with Te Kauae a Roopu.  During 2022, staff from both councils also provided informal status updates on the Strategy review to their respective Tauranga Moana Advisory Group representatives.

How Iwi/Hapū input to freshwater management changes was envisaged to be achieved

7.       The attached report provides information about the Tauranga Moana Wai Māori Project, which is a Te Mana o Te Wai project for Tauranga Moana, funded by central government and supported by the Regional Council.  The report notes that the Tauranga Moana Wai Māori Project:

·    Aims to assist Tauranga Moana iwi and the Regional Council with meeting the requirements of the freshwater management changes (under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, NPS-FM) and the Resource Management Act, including considering and recognising Te Mana o Te Wai, through a constructive Treaty-based partnership (refer paragraph 17); and

·    Is expected to provide critical information to inform future planning/project work undertaken within the Wairoa River Valley, via its incorporation into statutory planning documents, iwi management plans and via enhanced tangata whenua capability and capacity (refer paragraph 19).

·    Is the forum through which Tauranga Moana iwi expressed a desire to prioritise their involvement in the NPS-FM work being undertaken by the Regional Council (refer paragraph 14).

Where we are now

8.       Our current plan regarding the Wairoa River Valley Strategy review is that (refer attached report paragraphs 30-31):

a)   Retain the strategy as is for now and not proceed further with a review until the freshwater management plan change processes are completed, which is likely to be late 2025.  But in the interim Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council will:

i.    Develop and widely promote a ‘strategy on a page’ for the Wairoa River Valley Strategy, to raise awareness about the aspirations and principles for this space.  A very initial draft of the concept was provided; and

ii.   Work to support Tauranga Moana Iwi/Hapū and the Regional Council in connecting so that Iwi/Hapū are able to participate in the planned NPS-FM hui over the next few months. 

2.  The report noted that a specific Tauranga Moana hui-a-rohe will be held on 18 May 2023 for this purpose, with more details being available soon at: Bay of Plenty Regional Council - freshwater - engaging with tangata whenua (refer paragraph 15).

iii.   In early 2026, with our Iwi/Hapū partners, assess what is needed to fill any remaining gaps for the Wairoa River Valley area.  We note that adequate resourcing will need to be provided, whatever the outcome.

9.       Council staff are currently determining whether there is any more we can do to support Tauranga Moana iwi and hapū to engage in the freshwater management change processes, if they haven’t already, including those run by the Regional Council as well as through the Tauranga Moana Wai Māori Project.  In some quarters, awareness of the time constraints and the scale of the opportunity seem quite low.

10.     While we acknowledge that this strategy is past-due a review, there is also very little appetite from our project partners to undertake a standard strategy review at this time given all of the information above.

Attachments

1.       Report to SmartGrowth Leadership Group, 5 April 2023: Wairoa River Valley Strategy review update - A14650816  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 











 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.7         Capacity and Capability of Civil Defence Emergency Management

File Number:           A14604499

Author:                    Paula Naude, Manager: Community Development & Emergency Management

Authoriser:              Barbara Dempsey, General Manager: Community Services

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       The report focusses on the current capacity and capability of Tauranga City Council Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM).

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Capacity and Capability of Civil Defence Emergency Management".

 

Executive Summary

2.       New Zealand has recently experienced a series of significant weather events, most recently the Auckland Anniversary week-end severe weather event, shortly followed by Cyclone Gabrielle, both of which impacted the east coast of the North Island.  The Bay of Plenty (BOP), including Tauranga, were fortunate in that we were not as severely impacted as other areas; however, this also means that we were not tested to the extent of other regions or local authorities. 

3.       Tauranga Emergency Management (EM) is a department of Tauranga City Council (TCC). It works in partnership with emergency services and other organisations to ensure coordination of civil defence and emergency management within Tauranga, and ensures that TCC roles and responsibilities as a member of the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group are coordinated.  The team has a small number of staff in dedicated, full time emergency management positions. It is supplemented during emergency events by Council staff, trained in the CIMS framework, who undertake these roles in addition to their full-time positions.

4.       Council emergency response and preparedness has been a focal point around the country as a result of the recent severe weather events. TCC’s capability for effective emergency response has developed significantly since becoming independent of the joint EOC with Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOPDC) as of July 2021.

5.       For the BOP and TCC, the scale of the impact from cyclone Gabrielle has been significantly lower than other regions. Through the duration of the cyclone (Feb 5-15) TCC’s Incident Management Team (IMT) was established early in the active monitoring phase of the incident.  This enabled a swift and effective activation of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) from the Spring Street offices on Sunday 12 February. The established systems and processes within the EOC were utilized and tested throughout the response.

6.       During this activation, the EOC was able to fill key roles, with back-up and secondary (in-house) support scheduled should the response have continued for longer than 3 days. At the peak of the response, functions were able to adequately manage their workloads with a minimum of 2 x staff per function.

7.       Should the nature and scale of an event require additional support, this would be available from Emergency Management Bay of Plenty (EMBOP) and Local Council Authority members of the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group.  However, should a major scale response be required, it may mean neighbouring councils may well also be impacted, and additional (surge) support would need to be requested from beyond Bay of Plenty (BOP), this being common practice throughout New Zealand.

8.       The EM team maintain regular recruitment to ensure capability of the EOC and co-ordinate EOC training in accordance with set standards.  EM staff work to support all of council capability, by making foundational training available to all TCC staff, so that in a large-scale event, staff from across Council, who may not be existing EOC staff, can be called on as surge support, working under trained CIMS function managers.

9.       From an operational viewpoint, the overall capability of TCC’s emergency response currently meets the expectations and requirements of the Joint Committee.  As resilience is an iterative process, ongoing improvement and exercising are continuously monitored through existing BAU and data collection sources, response debriefs, annual exercises, twice-yearly BOP CDEM Group audit of TCC’s EOC, research, scientific modelling, training, and a range of other preparedness functions.

current capability of tcc emergency management

Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act 2002

10.     The CDEM Act 2002 provides for a sustainable approach to reduction, readiness, response and recovery, and the necessary structures to enable effective oversight.

11.     In terms of Section 12 of the CDEM Act 2002, the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group was

established as a standing joint committee under clause 30(1)(b) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002.  BOP CDEM Group run an Elected Officials’ Induction for newly elected members.  This seminar provides information relating to the CDEM Act 2002 (more specifically Sect 17), the elected members’ roles and responsibilities, the Group & Annual plans, CIMS, role of controllers, local state of emergency, role of recovery manager and notice of transition period and public alerting.  The intent of this seminar is to ensure that the elected members aware of the legislation, the function of the group and their respective role.  The elected members are also provided with an Elected Officials Guide.

 

Sect 13:  Membership of Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups

12.     This section provides, inter alia, every local authority must be a member of the CDEM Group and must be represented on the Group by 1, and only 1, person, being the mayor or chairperson of that local authority or an elected person from that local authority who has delegated authority to act for the mayor or chairperson.

13.     Commissioner Tolley represents Tauranga City Council as a member of the Bay of Plenty CDEM Group with Commissioner Wasley serving as alternate representative in the absence of Commissioner Tolley.

14.     The functions of a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, and of each member, are defined under Section 17 of the CDEM Act 2002.

Section 25:  Persons appointed and otherwise authorised to declare state of local emergency or give notice of local transition period

 

15.     Section 25(5) provides, inter alia:

16.     The mayor of a territorial authority, or an elected member of that territorial authority if the mayor is absent, may declare a state of local emergency, or give notice of a local transition period, which covers the district of that territorial authority.

17.     In the absence of a mayor, Commissioner Tolley has the authority to declare a state of local emergency or give notice of a local transition to recovery for Tauranga. In the absence of Commissioner Tolley, Commissioner Wasley has this authority.

 

18.     Although there was no need for such a local declaration in the 2 afore-mentioned recent weather events, the inclusion is to evidence Tauranga has the necessary structures and authorities in place to act as and when required.

19.     The following section pertains to the executive leadership of the activities of local EM teams.

Sect 20:  Appointment and functions of Civil Defence Emergency Management Co-ordinating Executive Groups (CEG)

20.     This section provides, inter alia:

21.     A Civil Defence Emergency Management Group must establish and maintain a Civil Defence Emergency Management Co-ordinating Executive Group that is responsible for providing advice, implementing, as appropriate, the decisions of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, and overseeing the implementation, development, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation of the civil defence emergency management group plan.

22.     TCC Chief Executive Officer is a member of CEG.

23.     The Bay of Plenty CDEM Coordinating Executive Group is supported in its functions by the

          CEG Local Authorities Subcommittee comprising of the tier 2 managers from member Local

          Authorities who have the portfolio for leading CDEM.

24.     TCC is represented on this Subcommittee by the General Manager, Community Services.

25.     Sections 27 & 30 below evidence TCC’s level of preparedness in that where the act provides a CDEM Group may appoint, TCC has undertaken to ensure appointments have been made which provides a robust structure to enable efficient response.

Sect 27:  Appointment of Local Controllers

26.     This section provides, inter alia, that a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group may appoint 1 or more persons to be a Local Controller.

27.     TCC has 5 Local Controllers appointed under the Act.

Sect 30:  Appointment of Local Recovery Managers

28.     This section provides, inter alia, that a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group may appoint, either by name or by reference to the holder of an office, 1 or more suitably qualified and experienced persons to be a Local Recovery Manager.

29.     TCC has 2 Local Recovery Managers appointed under the Act.

Sect 60:  Lifeline Utilities

30.     TCC has additional duties under the CDEM Act 2002 as a lifeline utility. Section 60 of the Act requires TCC to ensure that it is able to function to the fullest possible extent, even though this may be at a reduced level, during and after an emergency. A number of TCC functions are deemed to be Lifeline Utilities under Schedule 1 of the CDEM Act:

·    The entity (being an airport authority as defined in section 2 of the Airport Authorities Act 1966, whether or not it is also an airport company as defined in that section) that operates the primary airport at Tauranga

·    An entity that supplies or distributes water to the inhabitants of a city, district, or other place.

·    An entity that provides a wastewater or sewerage network or that disposes of sewage or storm water

·    An entity that provides a road network

31.     The Bay of Plenty Lifelines Group was established to lead and coordinate across all lifeline utilities in the Bay of Plenty to ensure the ability to function to the fullest possible extent.

32.     TCC is a member of the Bay of Plenty Lifelines Group, this group is currently chaired by a TCC staff member.

Co-ordinated Incident Management System

33.     New Zealand’s Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) establishes a framework of consistent principles, structures, functions, processes and terminology for response and the transition to recovery.  CIMS provides emergency management agencies with a framework to coordinate and cooperate effectively in a response, and the Government requires all relevant agencies in the emergency response system to be trained in this system.  New Zealand agencies and organisations use the CIMS framework to manage incident responses of any scale, the respective functions of the response structure, the levels of response and the relationships between them, and how a response can be structured at each level.

32.     The purpose of CIMS is to provide a common and modular framework, enabling personnel to respond effectively to incidents through appropriate coordination across functions and organisations — both vertically and horizontally — by:

·    establishing common structures, functions and terminology in a framework that is flexible, modular, and scalable so that the framework can be tailored to specific circumstances; and

·    providing organisations with a framework that they can use to develop their own CIMS-aligned processes and procedures that support both own-organisation responses and multi-organisation interoperability, giving due consideration to each organisation’s unique responsibilities, resources, and legislative authority.

33.     CIMS can be scaled to manage any type or size of incident. Controllers may delegate functions to individual personnel or teams on a scale that reflects the requirements of the incident. A protracted response may scale up and down several times depending on the nature of the incident and the required response. 

34.     Having all EM staff CIMS trained nationally, also provides for surge capacity staff to deploy into impacted areas, in support of the local EM offices, where insertion into an active EOC is efficient due to common understanding of CIMS framework and language.

34.     TCC EM uses the CIMS framework, and this is mandatory training for all EOC staff.  In addition to EOC staffing, the EM team are facilitating access to CIMS training for 41 operational TCC employees, to enhance wider TCC ability to support the EOC from their respective BAU role in council during a response, e.g., Rapid Building Assessors, Transport Operations staff, Contact Centre, etc. 

Managing Buildings in an Emergency

35.     TCC, as a Building Control Authority, has the role and responsibility for Building Management.  These functions are detailed in Section 15 of the National CDEM Plan Order 2015 and in accordance with the regulations as provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). This includes, inter alia:

·    Ensuring the development and maintenance of a Rapid Building Assessment Plan

·    Ensuring the identification of key staff and assessors, and ensuring they have the training as prescribed by MBIE

·    Ensuring the appropriate resources are available to ensure effective rapid building assessment.

36.     In addition to the EOC staff, TCC has:

·    3 trained rapid building assessors

·    2 trained rapid building assessor support staff

·    15 staff awaiting rapid building assessor training when next made available by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

Local Emergency Services Coordinating Committee (LESCC)

37.     The purpose of the LESCC is to establish relationships, determine methods of control and coordination across agencies, and generally develop a shared readiness to enable a coordinated response in an emergency. The Western Bay of Plenty LESCC is led by New Zealand Police and TCC EM is a member of the committee.

Group Plan

38.     The Emergency Management Team along with our regional partners are currently contributing to the current review and update of the Group Plan which sets the collective direction for emergency management in the Bay of Plenty. The plan identifies both local and national hazards and helps formulate the work program for TCC EM staff and stakeholders.  Locally, TCC has its own specialist reviewing high priority hazards relevant to TCC, and the EM Senior Advisor is closely linked to our local review and what this requires to inform local planning, in addition to Group planning.

Internal Relationships

39.     The EM staff at TCC are continuously working to build and maintain relationships within the council to ensure that subject matter experts are consulted and that major projects have an emergency management lens considered from the earliest possible stage.

Current Emergency Operations Centre Capability

40.     TCC has a physical EOC situated at 46 Spring Street.  This site is well suited to the requirements of an EOC and requires minimal set up in an activation.  The site contains:

·    Fixed radio

·    Satellite phone

·    Fixed desks, monitors, keyboards and docking systems

·    Meeting rooms

·    Laptops

·    Mobile phones

·    EOC function role resource boxes containing all function role specific duties, relevant function-colored vests, function specific stationery and templates, signage, etc.

·    Bathroom facilities

·    Kitchen facilities

·    Access to TTOC to enable real time monitoring where relevant

·    Access to the call center to monitor call volume and areas of concern

41.     It is noted, however, that this facility will no longer be available once 90 Devonport Road is completed, and the EM team have been working on identifying a suitable, alternative facility in anticipation of this. 

42.    Below is the current snapshot of our current EOC staffing available and capability.  

43.     These numbers above break down the total number of EOC staff that TCC has available to fulfil key roles during an activation. They are audited and monitored by Emergency Management Bay of Plenty (EMBOP). Trained and Engaged refers to members that have achieved the minimum level of qualifications and have been engaged in EM activity/training within the last 12 months. There are currently 96 EOC staff, and a further 14 in the process of being on-boarded onto EOC the roster.  These numbers suggest we are able to sustain a 3-roster shift for the response to any significant event that requires activation of the EOC.

44.     TCC EM have established a common IT operating system to utilize during emergency response to facilitate sharing of intelligence and support improved real time communications and decision making.  In addition, there is an established Tauranga Emergency Operations Teams site that contains relevant contact lists, resource materials, SOPs and plans. 

45.     The EOC function roles have access to standardised templates to aid the creation of intelligence products through information management, information collation and analysis, planning and decision making. The CIMS outlines templates for Status Reports, Situation Reports (SitReps), Action Plans, Resource Requests and Response to Recovery Transition Reports, and these have been adopted where deemed appropriate.

46.     The EM team have developed a series of EOC Forums which will continue to give EOC staff the opportunity to maintain their engagement with and proficiency in emergency management skills. These forums provide a space for new and existing EOC staff to receive updates, train and practice specific response skills and keep up to date with current sector activities. In addition to this, there are regular communities of practice sessions, run by the Group office, for the various function roles, to meet, upskill, and share practice. 

47.     TCC EM staff are currently developing an online training module that will serve as an introduction to EM and will be made available for all TCC staff. It will cover the basic principles of emergency management, the CIMS structure and what happens after an event. The intent is that all TCC staff will have a foundational knowledge of EM, even if they are not members of the EOC, so that in a large-scale event, wider TCC staff may be called into the EOC as surge support. 

48.     The community education space will continue to engage with the various groups in our city. EM currently has one dedicated role to deliver such programs and there is an identified need to increase this capability, given the council’s commitment to building a ready and resilient city.

Civil Defence Centres (CDCs) and Community Led Centres (CLCs)

49.     EM have pre-identified CDC locations used for all hazards, but those located in a high-risk area will be reviewed for their suitability and impact during an emergency, dependant on the nature of the unfolding event.

50.     Our current identified Civil Defence Centres:

·     BayPark Stadium and Arena (BVL and CDEM/Council staffed)

·     Tauranga Racecourse (CDEM/Council staffed)

·     Club Mount Maunganui (CDEM/Council staffed)

·     Mount Maunganui RSA (CDEM/Council staffed)

·     Greerton Marist Sports Club (CDEM/Council staffed)

·     Tauranga Citizens Club (CDEM/Council staffed)

51.     EM are in the final stages of entering a Memorandum of Commitment partnership with Bay Venues Limited (BVL) to use all buildings and facilities under the management of BVL as potential CDCs. This will give greater coverage of 24 facilities, access to their resources, the ability to utilise BVL staff and flexibility across the city.

52.     As it is impossible to predict the effects of an emergency and our community's subsequent needs, the decision where to open an official Civil Defence Centre (CDC) will be made when an emergency occurs, once it is determined which communities are impacted, and extent of need, choosing a safe location that is best placed to meet the needs of those most effected. This is likely to be a venue such as a community centre, hall or sports facility.

 

53.     In regard to Community-Led Centers (CLCs), Community Response Teams across the city have indicated that if able, they will open a CLC. It should be noted that CLCs operate independently to CDEM, therefore, can open at any point during an emergency with no obligation to be supported by CDEM. Under current legislation, Marae opening during an emergency fall under the CLC category. CLCs are solely staffed by community volunteers.

54.     Currently there are 5 marae that provide CLCs, with a potential for a further 5, event dependent.

Welfare

54.     Local delivery of welfare arrangements for Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty sub-region is through the Western Bay of Plenty Local Welfare Committee (LWC). The roles and responsibilities of lead and support agencies involved are adequately documented and reviewed as per the Tauranga City Welfare Plan, the LWC Terms of Reference and the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Welfare Plan 2019/2024. The LWC provides an opportunity for local level welfare agencies to strengthen working relationships and draw on existing networks within communities before, during, and after an emergency. Competency, resourcing, support and collaboration is strong between LWC members.  TCC EM senior advisor:  Welfare, co-chairs the LWC.  There is a current focus on increasing the numbers of Council trained welfare staff in needs assessment and Civil Defence Centre management. Current welfare EOC staff will need to be boosted with surge and partner agency staff for a longer event.

Community & Iwi Preparedness

55.     In any event and especially those of a significant nature, the emergency services and responding agency resources will be stretched and at times may be overwhelmed. At such times it is even more critical that communities and iwi are prepared as they will in most cases be the first responders. TCC EM works with communities and iwi to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergency events.

Current Projects

56.     A number of projects are currently underway:

·    Evacuation Planning & Management of the major hazard facilities is being conducted in the Mount Industrial Zone.  Mapping has been completed and a response framework will be developed, alongside the tsunami response framework.  EM staff have also been instrumental in the re-establishment of the Hazardous Substances Group, comprising various emergency services, that had been meeting historically but ceased.  The first meeting was to be for February 2023, however, due to impacts of weather events, FENZ (who will lead this), have not had capacity, and thus the first meeting has been scheduled for May 2023.  A further group will be comprised of representatives of the major hazard facilities, to create a major hazards response team for the area, who will then plan for collective response to ensure a common response framework at the organizational level, in an event that may impact more than one hazardous site. 

·    Development of virtual reality simulation of an earthquake, followed by a tsunami.  This is intended to be used for public engagement and education, and community response will inform EM planning.

Research

57.     The EM team continually seek opportunity for adoption of new learnings, best practice, and innovation in approach to risk mitigation, most recently this has been:

·    A research trip to Japan at the invitation of the Metropolitan University of Tokyo, where the sites and impacts of the 2011 tsunami were visited, lessons learnt discussed, and viewing of the infrastructure to mitigate future risk were visited.  Such opportunities enable consideration of international experiences and subsequent response, to better inform local planning where relevant. 

·    Evacuation Planning & Management is an area of focus for the wider emergency services groups within the city. The Tsunami Evacuation Mapping project is a region-wide initiative that TCC is heavily invested in. TCC EM currently have engaged GNS Science who are undertaking an evacuation model of the Papamoa Coastline.  This model will simulate evacuation patterns, timing and problem areas, and is intended to improve public safety and provide a technical base to inform decisions.  Once developed, this will help guide further planning to improve evacuation routes by highlighting areas where path developments, tsunami bridges and vertical evacuation structures will help improve evacuation.  Once completed, this will also be used as a public education tool to highlight what an evacuation will look like via different modes of transport.

·    The EM team are working alongside an engineering consultancy to undertake structural assessments of several identified key buildings in Papamoa East. This assessment will determine if the buildings will withstand an earthquake and tsunami to enable critical vertical evacuation planning for the community. This is currently in stage one with a small number being assessed and if successful will expand to include all key community buildings.

National CDEM

58.     Key developments to note at central government level which may impact local arrangements are:

·    The new draft EM Bill intended to replace the current CDEM Act 2002 is pending introduction to the House of Representatives shortly.

·    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is leading the drafting of the new national EM plan.

·    In 2022 NEMA identified a priority work programme to address collective readiness for catastrophic events, and it is expected that regionalization planning for catastrophic events will be undertaken in 2023.

Attachments

Nil

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.8         Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update - May 2023

File Number:           A14665712

Author:                    Sarah Omundsen, General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance

Carl Lucca, Team Leader: Urban Communities

Authoriser:              Sarah Omundsen, General Manager: Regulatory and Compliance

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the Mount Planning and Delivery Programme.

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Mount Planning and Delivery Programme Update - May 2023".

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       The Mount Planning and Delivery Programme (the Mount Programme) was presented to the Strategy, Risk and Finance Committee on 27 March 2023. This report provides an update on progress during the past six weeks, including:

(a)     The Mount collaboration space – ‘The Mount Hub’

(b)     Communications and engagement

(c)     Working with tangata whenua, including integration of engagement between projects where possible

(d)     Progress and next steps on the Mount to Arataki Spatial Plan and Mount Industrial Planning Study.

3.       As requested at the last committee meeting:

(a)     A table of Mount Programme projects is attached as Attachment A to this report. The programme table summarises key project activities in three month blocks through to April 2024.

(b)     Key programme risks being managed are identified in this report.

(c)     The list of key stakeholders for the Industrial Planning Study, including those involved in the relevant workshops, is provided in Attachment B to this report.

4.       It is recommended that subsequent updates to this committee occur on a 12-week cycle. Project teams will also report directly to the committee in accordance with their own project milestones.

Introduction

5.       The key objectives for the Mount Programme are to:

(a)     Provide a coordinated and aligned approach to the management and implementation of Tauranga City Council projects planned or underway within the area

(b)     Provide a cohesive communications and engagement approach internally and externally (including with tangata whenua, key stakeholders and the community) of Council projects planned or underway within the area

(c)     Provide internal awareness of significant projects being led by external partners and stakeholders (e.g., Waka Kotahi and Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana) within the area

(d)     Provide an ongoing framework that assists to facilitate the outcomes of the Mount Spatial Plan.

6.       This report provides an update on the Mount Programme in relation to the above objectives.

Mount Collaboration Space – ‘The Mount Hub’

7.       The collaboration space was opened to the public on 8 May 2023.

8.       The collaboration space is:

(a)     Named ‘The Mount Hub’ to reflect the purpose and be a focal point for the community to visit and connect with Council staff in person in relation to the Mount Programme, and for staff to use as a venue to run design sprints, workshops and other events.

(b)     Open to the public Mon to Friday 9.30am to 4pm to provide flexibility for the twilight engagement sessions to be run by Council project teams and City Partners.

(c)     Available for wider Council staff to book time into to use to work from and to support efficient use of the space to support wider Council activities.

9.       During opening hours, the Hub will offer a comfortable showroom feel to display project information and support community engagement, feedback and conversations. Visitors will be warmly welcomed and will have enquiries supported and invited to provide feedback on active / future projects and the Mt Hub itself.

10.     The Hub will also offer a scaled down level of service available in the Service Centre at He Puna Manawa to support the community with wider Council enquiries and payments.

11.     Staff will be able to utilise the Hub to carry out workshops during opening and after hours. The Mount to Arataki Spatial Plan Design Sprint workshops will be held there at the end of May / start of June.

Initial community interest

12.     The first week was encouraging; there were 65 visitors with most either having project specific questions or were otherwise curious about the space and wanted to find out more. Feedback has been largely positive about Council’s presence back in the Mount for the first time in many years, the look and feel of the new Hub space and compliments on the plans for a skatepark and the Marine Parade extension. The Hub will be setting up a survey to gauge visitor satisfaction and record their feedback.

13.     The Mount Business Association will be using the Hub for a training session on 22/05 after hours and in addition will run their monthly board meetings there.

Mount programme project updates

14.     Attachment A includes a summary of projects underway within the overall Mount Programme. The programme table summarises key project activities in three month blocks through to April 2024, identifying:

(a)     Planning phases

(b)     Physical delivery phases

(c)     Key milestones, e.g., business case, engagement, completion of works.

15.     The information has assisted to inform integrated programme planning particularly in relation to communication and engagement (as outlined below) and planning between projects, such as the Spatial Plan, the Industrial Planning Study, transport related projects and natural hazards planning.

Comms and ENGAGEMENT – programme COORDINATION

Mount Hub

16.     A communications plan and key messages have been developed for the Mount Hub. Key messages build on those developed for the overarching Mount Programme and address:

(a)     Lease length and fit out, focusing on flexibility to enable configuration for multiple uses e.g., workshops, meetings, co design sessions for council staff and moving forward local Mount community groups, clubs and partner organisations.

(b)     The opportunity that the Hub provides to the community for both structured and informal community engagement.

(c)     The information that the Hub holds regarding council projects (current and planned).

 

Mount Projects Websites

17.     A Mount Programme webpage has been created to support communications and engagement with the community. https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/our-future/mount-projects

18.     This webpage provides an overview of the various projects currently underway within the Mount to Arataki area, including the overarching key messages outlined above and links to specific project webpages where available.

19.     An interactive project map has been added to the site. This will enable easier site navigation, small project preview, and a better way to visualize things geographically. This will also be a great tool for The Mount Hub staff to speak to projects and share with the community.

Opportunities

20.     The Mount Spatial Plan engagement is ongoing, and we have had an encouraging response with some common themes emerging from the community around key issues and outcomes sought for the area in the future. In July / August, a draft plan will go to the community for feedback. This potentially presents an opportunity to seek feedback on other Mount projects and initiatives that involve land use like proposed plans for major reserves.

21.     We are also exploring ways in which we can tell a better story on our work in The Mount area by including key messages around the need for improving roads and making them safer, building better infrastructure for cycling, public transport, and pedestrians, and upgrading parks, facilities, and public spaces for everyone’s enjoyment now and in the future.

Working with tangata whenua

22.     We are currently working in partnership with tangata whenua on the Mount Spatial Plan, Industrial Planning Study tand Connecting Mount Maunganui projects with the support of Council’s Takawaenga team.

23.     We will look to build on this mahi by supporting the Takawaenga team with the trialling of a ‘Tangata Whenua Project Board’, aimed at providing relevant hapū and iwi in the Mount with a clear summary of all Mount based projects happening now and in the near future, incorporating timeframes of project phases. It is hoped that this initiative will help identify further opportunities to coordinate tangata whenua engagement across the programme.

Mount to Arataki Spatial Plan

24.     Information on the next steps for the Mount Spatial Plan and Industrial Planning Study is included in the Growth, Land Use Planning & Transport Strategy Projects May 2023 Quarterly Update.

25.     To assist in facilitating integrated planning and delivery, the Spatial Plan includes a Reference Group comprising representatives of the following organisations who will likely have a role in implementing the spatial plan:

·        Waka Kotahi

·        Bay of Plenty Regional Council – Toi Moana

·        Health NZ/Toi Te Ora

·        Kāinga Ora

·        Ministry of Education

·        Ministry of Housing and Urban Development

·        Port of Tauranga

·        Priority One

·        Sport BOP

·        Tourism Bay of Plenty.

 

26.     The Reference Group held two workshops on 21 and 28 February 2023 to develop the draft problem statements for the Spatial Plan i.e., the issues and outcomes being sought.

27.     Community engagement occurred during March and April, with over 960 responses received from the community survey across the various topics, as well as more than 2,000 comments through face-to-face engagement. Drop-in sessions and pop-up shops were held at the Arataki Community Centre, Little Big Markets, Bayfair, Gratitude Café, at the base of Mauao, Omanu School and Mount Maunganui Intermediate.

28.     A stakeholder engagement workshop was also held on 9 March 2023 with 42 attendees from business and community organisations contributing to identification of key issues and outcomes sought.

29.     Outcomes of the engagement are currently being collated and will be reported to Council in June. The outcomes of the engagement will also feed into the MSP Design Sprints Workshops in May / June.

Mount Industrial Planning Study

30.     A workshop with key stakeholders was held on 7 March 2023 at Club Mount Maunganui with 35 attendees. The workshop identified the issues, opportunities and visions for the future of the industrial area. A second workshop was held on 11 May 2023 to present three draft scenarios for discussion – status quo, expansion and environmental limits. Stakeholders were asked to identify their preferred scenarios, which will be an input to the MSP Design Sprints Workshops in May / June.

31.     As requested at the 27 March Committee meeting, those stakeholders invited to workshops are listed in Appendix B.

32.     A presentation on the Industrial planning Study was made to the Mount Industrial Network on 6 April 2-23 which comprises over 50 businesses in the Mount industrial area, and further engagement with this forum will occur.

33.     Priority One are preparing a ‘blueprint’ for the Mount industrial area which is expected to be completed at the end of May. The blueprint will be similar to the Tauranga CBD blueprint and make recommendations on actions to be taken as an input to the MIPS. Priority One sent out a survey to all 850+ businesses in the Mount industrial area in December 2022, with over 150 responses received.

Programme Risks

34.     The table below outlines key ‘programme’ risks being managed; project specific risks continue to be managed by project teams and will be reported as part of those projects.

 

Risk Event

Mitigation

Risk Score

1

A lack of coordination between programme projects, particularly regarding the timing of communication and engagement, could cause community frustration, disruption to individual projects and a misunderstanding of outcomes Council is trying to achieve

Programme governance structures in place, with regular project lead meetings to discuss timeframes, risks and key messaging

Medium

2

Misalignment of messaging and/or perceived outcomes on projects relating to growth and the need to respond to climate change.

'Front foot’ communications to impacted community ensuring awareness of council led initiatives around mitigations in this space

Medium

3

Limited public interest in council's investment in a collaborative hub space in Mount Maunganui.

Continue to share information through media, utilising key messages to underline the benefits of the space, how it will enable better public engagement, the flexibility and multipurpose nature of it and the fact equipment has been repurposed.

Monitor use and collect feedback from visitors

Medium

4

Public perception that community feedback is not taken into account when delivering projects, eroding trust in wider programme delivery

Continue to reinforce “what we heard” through the wider programme communications and key messaging.

Create a space on the new website for people to add their views and have questions answered.

Medium

 

next Steps

35.     Next programme steps include:

(a)     Overarching programme comms and engagement, in line with above.

(b)     Development of the Tangata Whenua Project Board

(c)     Ongoing programme coordination.

36.     Further reporting on the programme is proposed in August 2023.

 

Attachments

1.       Attachment A - Quarterly Update - Mount Programme - May 2023 - A14671882

2.       Attachment B - Mount Industrial Planning Study Key Stakeholder List - A14699834  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 





Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 



Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.9         2023 Q3 Jan-Mar Health and Safety Report

File Number:           A14386926

Author:                    Stuart Kokaua, Health, Safety and Wellbeing System Support

Authoriser:              Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       To provide a summary of Health, Safety and Wellbeing activities over the January - March 2023 quarter.

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the 2023 Q3 Jan-Mar Health and Safety Report

(b)     Receives the 2023 Q3 Jan-Mar Mental Health & Wellbeing Report 

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       This is a quarterly report provided to the Committee, designed to monitor Health, Safety and Wellbeing activities, and share learnings.

3.       Any feedback regarding content or topics that the Committee would like is welcomed.

Attachments

1.       3_2023 Q3 Health & Safety Report - A14622316

2.       3_2023 Q3 Mental Health & Wellbeing Report - A14625746  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 






Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 






 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

9.10       Q3 Report 2023 LGOIMA and Privacy Requests

File Number:           A14663953

Author:                    Jolene Wells, Administrator

Authoriser:              Christine Jones, General Manager: Strategy, Growth & Governance

 

Purpose of the Report

1.       The purpose of this report is to update the Committee on Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) and Privacy requests for the third quarter of 2022/23.

 

Recommendations

That the Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee:

(a)     Receives the report "Q3 Report 2023 LGOIMA and Privacy Requests".

 

 

Executive Summary

2.       These reports are provided to the Committee to provide assurance on statutory compliance for LGOIMA and Privacy requests.

Attachments

1.       Q3  Report LGOIMA and Privacy Requests - A14663934  

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 



   


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

10        Discussion of late items


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

11        Public excluded session

Resolution to exclude the public

Recommendations

That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting.

The general subject matter of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:

General subject of each matter to be considered

Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter

Ground(s) under section 48 for the passing of this resolution

11.1 - Corporate Risk Register - Quarterly Update

s7(2)(b)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would disclose a trade secret

s7(2)(b)(ii) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information

s7(2)(h) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities

s7(2)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)

s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7

11.2 - Internal Audit & Assurance - Quarterly Update

s6(b) - The making available of the information would be likely to endanger the safety of any person

s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons

s7(2)(d) - The withholding of the information is necessary to avoid prejudice to measures protecting the health or safety of members of the public

s7(2)(g) - The withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege

s7(2)(j) - The withholding of the information is necessary to prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper gain or improper advantage

s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7

11.3 - Litigation Report

s7(2)(a) - The withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons, including that of deceased natural persons

s7(2)(g) - The withholding of the information is necessary to maintain legal professional privilege

s7(2)(i) - The withholding of the information is necessary to enable Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations)

s48(1)(a) - the public conduct of the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting would be likely to result in the disclosure of information for which good reason for withholding would exist under section 6 or section 7

 

 

 

 

 

 


Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee meeting Agenda

6 June 2023

 

12        Closing karakia



[1] The bylaw is available on the Tauranga City Council website at: https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/Portals/0/data/council/bylaws/files/traffic-and-parking-2012.pdf.

[2] Currently mobile traders are regulated under the Street Use and Public Places bylaw made under the LGA. Breaches of this bylaw can be difficult to enforce as staff would need to follow a prosecution pathway. Prosecution takes time and resource and often traders would have moved on before the process would be complete.