Agenda of Regional Council - Thursday, 15 February 2024

Council

Membership

Chairperson	Chairman Doug Leeder
Deputy Chairperson	Cr Jane Nees
Members	All Councillors
Quorum	Seven members, consisting of half the number of members
Meeting frequency	Six weekly or as required for Annual Plan, Long Term Plan and other relevant legislative requirements

Purpose

· Enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, Bay of Plenty communities.

· Meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.

· Set the overarching strategic direction for Bay of Plenty Regional Council as an organisation.

· Hold ultimate responsibility for allocating financial resources across the Council.

Role

· Address Local Electoral Act matters and Local Government Rating Act matters.

· Oversee all matters relating to identifying and contributing to community outcomes.

· Consider and agree on matters relating to significant new activities or areas of involvement such as infrastructure which are not the responsibility of a specific committee.

· Provide regional leadership on key issues that require a collaborative approach between a number of parties.

· Review and decide the Council’s electoral and representation arrangements.

· Consider issues of regional significance which are not the responsibility of any specific standing committee or that are of such regional significance/high public interest that the full Council needs to decide on them.

· Adopt Council’s Policy on Significance and Engagement Policy.

· Develop, adopt and implement the Triennial Agreement, Code of Conduct and Standing Orders.

· Consider and agree on matters relating to elected members’ remuneration.

· Appoint the Chief Executive, and review their contract, performance and remuneration at least annually.

· Approve all delegations to the Chief Executive, including the authority for further delegation to staff.

· Oversee the work of all committees and subcommittees.

· Receive and consider recommendations and matters referred to it by its committees, joint committees, subcommittees and working parties.

· Approve membership to external bodies and organisations, including Council Controlled Organisations.

· Develop, adopt and review policies for, and monitor the performance of, Council Controlled Organisations.

· Monitor and review the achievement of outcomes for the Bay of Plenty Community.

· Review and approve strategic matters relating to the sale, acquisition and development of property for the purposes of meeting Council’s organisational requirements and implement Regional Council policy.

· Address strategic corporate matters including property and accommodation.

· Consider and agree on the process to develop the Long Term Plan, Annual Plan and Annual Report.

· Adopt the Long Term Plan, Annual Plan and budgets variations, and Annual Report.

· Adopt Council policies as required by statute (for example Regional Policy Statement and Regional Land Transport Strategy) to be decided by Council or outside of committee delegations (for example infrastructure policy).

· Develop, review and approve Council’s Financial Strategy and funding and financial policies and frameworks.

· Institute any proceedings in the High Court that are not injunctive proceedings.

· Exercise the powers and duties conferred or imposed on Council by the Public Works Act 1981.

Delegations from Council to committees

· Council has a role to monitor the functioning of all committees.

· Council will consider matters not within the delegation of any one Council committee.

· Council may at any time, revoke or modify a delegation to a Council committee, either permanently, for a specified time or to address a specific matter, if it considers there is good reason to do so.

· The delegations provided to committees may be further delegated to subcommittees unless the power of further delegation is restricted by Council or by statute.

· It is accepted in making these delegations that:

· The committees, in performing their delegated functions, powers or duties, may, without confirmation by the Council, exercise or perform them in a like manner and with the same effect as the Council itself could have exercised or performed them.

· The delegated powers given shall at all times be subject to their current policies and principles or directions, as given by the Council from time to time.

· The chairperson of each committee shall have the authority to exercise their discretion, as to whether or not the delegated authority of the committee be used where, in the opinion of the chairperson, circumstances warrant it.

Powers that cannot be delegated

Under Clause 32 Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002, Council must make the following decisions:

· Make a rate.

· Make a bylaw.

· Borrow money or purchase or dispose of assets, other than in accordance with the long-term plan.

· Adopt the long-term plan, annual plan, or annual report.

· Appoint a chief executive.

· Adopt policies required to be adopted and consulted on under the Local Government Act 2002 in association with the long-term plan or developed for the purpose of the local governance statement.

· Adopt a remuneration and employment policy.

Livestreaming and Recording of Meetings

Please note the Public section of this meeting is being recorded and streamed live on Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s website in accordance with Council's Live Streaming and Recording of Meetings Protocols which can be viewed on Council’s website. The recording will be archived and made publicly available on Council's website within two working days after the meeting on www.boprc.govt.nz for a period of three years (or as otherwise agreed to by Council).

All care is taken to maintain your privacy; however, as a visitor in the public gallery or as a participant at the meeting, your presence may be recorded. By remaining in the public gallery, it is understood your consent is given if your image is inadvertently broadcast.

Opinions expressed or statements made by individual persons during a meeting are not the opinions or statements of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Council accepts no liability for any opinions or statements made during a meeting.

Item No.	Subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Grounds under Section 48(1) for the passing of this resolution	When the item can be released into the public
11.1	Public Excluded Regional Council Minutes - 14 December 2023	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	To remain in public excluded.

Regional Council Minutes

14 December 2023

Regional Council

Open Minutes

Commencing: Thursday 14 December 2023, 9.30 am

Venue: Council Chambers, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

Chairperson: Chairman Doug Leeder

Deputy Chairperson: Deputy Chairperson Jane Nees

Members: Cr Malcolm Campbell

Cr Stuart Crosby

Cr Toi Kai Rākau Iti

Cr Matemoana McDonald

Cr Kat Macmillan

Cr Ron Scott

Cr Ken Shirley

Cr Paula Thompson

Cr Lyall Thurston

Cr Andrew von Dadelszen

Cr Te Taru White

Cr Kevin Winters

In Attendance: Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive; Mat Taylor – General Manager, Corporate; Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy & Science; Chris Ingle – General Manager, Integrated Catchments; Kataraina O’Brien – General Manager, Strategic Engagement; Karen Aspey – General Manager, People & Leadership (via Zoom); Reuben Fraser – General Manager, Regulatory Services (via Zoom); Kumaren Perumal – Chief Financial Officer; Mark Le Comte – Principal Advisor, Finance; Ange Foster – Communications and Engagement Manager; Jon Jon Peters – BOP Harbourmaster; Toni Briggs – Senior Project Manager; Lisa Power – Senior Planner; Greg Corbett – Biosecurity Manager; Samantha Pottage – Planner; Nassah Rolleston-Steed – Principal Advisor, Policy and Planning; Claudia Cameron – Committee Advisor

Rotorua Lakes Council (via Zoom): Gina Rangi and Steward Brown

Chairman Leeder advised those present in Chambers and via Zoom that the meeting was being livestreamed and recorded and that the recording would be made available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website following the meeting Council Meeting - 14 December 2023 (youtube.com)

1. Opening Karakia

A karakia was provided by Cr Te Taru White.

2. Order of Business

Noted item 9.3 and 10.3 were distributed under separate cover after the agenda was published.

Changes to the Order of Business were to accommodate presenter arrival times.

3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

Cr Stuart Crosby and Cr Te Taru White, as Quayside Directors, declared an interest in the items relating to Quayside Holdings Limited being item 9.3 Adoption for Audit of Draft LTP Consultation Document and Supporting Material and item 10.3 Quayside Holdings Limited – Statement of Expectations 2024/25. The following statement was read by both Councillors:

“As a Director of Quayside Holdings and Quayside Securities, I declare a conflict of interest on item 9.3 concerning the Long Term Plan and Consultation Document (on matters that pertain to the Quayside Group of Companies) and item 10.3 concerning Quayside Holdings Statement of Expectation 2024/2025. For the avoidance of doubt, as both items are decisions, I will not be expressing any view by participating in the debate and will abstain from voting on both items in this meeting. I would be available to answer any questions if required in my position of a Quayside Director.”

Cr Te Taru White, as Trustee of the Rotorua Museum Centennial Trust, declared an interest in item 9.4 Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (Rotorua Museum) Funding.

Cr Lyall Thurston, as Chair of the Rotorua Museum Centennial Trust declared an interest in item 9.4 Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (Rotorua Museum) Funding.

Cr Paula Thompson and Cr Jane Nees, as Hearing Panel members for the Proposed Change 6 (National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020) to the Regional Policy Statement, declared an interest in item 9.7 Hearing Panel recommendations on submissions for Proposed Change 6 (National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020) to the Regional Policy Statement.

Chair Doug Leeder noted his position as Port of Tauranga Director in relation to item 9.3 Adoption for Audit of Draft LTP Consultation Document and Supporting Material and read the following statement:

“I note that I am attending this meeting as an elected member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC). I am also a Director of Port of Tauranga Limited (POTL), as the Council’s representative. I advise that I do not consider there to be a conflict of interest for this meeting. I will consider the matters that are being discussed with an open mind, bearing in mind my role as a councillor. I have received independent legal advice concerning this matter. I further advise this meeting that I have declared to the POTL Board my role with the Council and that I do not intend to vote or participate in any discussions that the Port of Tauranga Board may wish to have in relation to this proposal. I have no financial interest in the Port of Tauranga or in Quayside Holding’s Perpetual Preference Shares.”

4. Public Excluded Business to be Transferred into the Open

Noted item 10.3 Quayside Holdings Limited – Statement of Expectations 2024/25 would be transferred to the open after the meeting. This would be resolved in the Public Excluded section.

5. Minutes

Minutes to be Confirmed

5.1

Regional Council Minutes - 26 October 2023

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Confirms the Regional Council Minutes - 26 October 2023 as a true and correct record.

Nees/Shirley

CARRIED

5.2

Regional Council Minutes - 22 November 2023

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Confirms the Regional Council Minutes - 22 November 2023 as a true and correct record.

Nees/White

CARRIED

6. Reports

6.1

Chairperson's Report

Key Points:

· Clarified that the meeting with Todd Muller was in his capacity as incoming Chair of Priority One, as opposed to outgoing MP.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Chairperson's Report.

Leeder/Winters

CARRIED

Decisions Required

6.2

Adoption of a Draft Regional Navigation Safety Bylaws 2024 for Consultation

Presented by: Toni Briggs – Senior Project Manager and Jon Jon Peters – BOP Harbourmaster

Key Points:

· The Navigation Safety Bylaws Review Committee (the Committee) had recommended the draft Regional Navigation Safety Bylaws 2024 to Council for its adoption as a draft for public consultation

· Consultation would occur over the summer months

· The Committee was made up of Councillors and Tangata Whenua representatives

· A minor pictorial error on the Kaituna river map would be corrected prior to consultation, as would minor editorial rewording to increase clarity, as per the delegated authority.

In Response to Questions:

· The Bylaws’ review had narrowed in scope, as only issues specifically relating to navigational safety could be included; there may be options to work in partnership with Territorial Authorities (TAs) over issues such as Jet Skis in Ōhiwa Harbour

· Staff had presented to Rotorua Lakes Community Board.

Key Points - Members:

· Commended staff for the work to get to this point, in particular the ability to educate the Committee on the legal environment

· Requested members of Te Maru O Kaituna and Te Arawa Lakes Trust be provided a copy of the proposed Bylaws and consultation material

· In future, Komiti Māori should be used as an avenue to initiate engagement with iwi/hapū

· In relation to the Tarawera River, requested the New Zealand Jetboat Association be included for consultation.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Adoption of a Draft Regional Navigation Safety Bylaws 2024 for Consultation;

2 Agrees with the recommendations of the Regional Navigation Safety Bylaws Review Committee;

3 Adopts the Draft Regional Navigation Safety Bylaws 2024 for Consultation.

von Dadelszen/Nees

CARRIED

6.3

Adoption for Audit of Draft LTP 2024 - 2034 Consultation Document and Supporting Material

Presented by: Kumaren Perumal - Chief Financial Officer; Ange Foster - Communications and Engagement Manager; Mat Taylor – General Manager, Corporate and Fiona McTavish – Chief Executive

Key Points from the Chief Executive:

· Acknowledged the work undertaken by staff and Councillors leading to this point

· The draft financial strategy was created on the principles of prudent financial decisions, environmental resilience and rates affordability

· Substantial savings were made through reduced funding across many activities, however there would not be a reduction in funding for volunteer activities, flood protection and emergency management, and there would be an increase in Public Transport funding

· Highlighted the balanced budget for each year, which had not occurred in recent history

· The draft Plan contained a General Rates increase of 9.8% for the first year which was a real increase (above inflation) of 4% in 2024/25

· Outlined the next steps for the project which included audit, adoption for public consultation, hearings and deliberations and final adoption in June 2024. There would be several opportunities for Councillors to make alterations going forward.

In Response to Questions:

· Acknowledged the reference to legislation which was due to be repealed, but as the audit process would correct all required changes, these would be amended post-audit

· The document would go to audit in mid-January 2024

· Minor editorial changes would be corrected by staff via the delegation to the Chief Executive, and there would be a thorough review process prior to its release for consultation

· Noted that this document was for audit purposes, the content would be presented in a more accessible way for public consultation, with accounting language simplified.

Key Points - Members:

· Suggested for consistency across all aspects “support communities to… ” should also be included in the Public Transport section

· Would prefer ‘embed’ rather than ‘consider’ referenced within the Climate Change Statement

· The progression of work on the regional infrastructure fund should be decided later rather than included at this stage.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Adoption for Audit of Draft LTP 2024 - 2034 Consultation Document and Supporting Material;

2 Adopts the Draft Volume One as a supporting document for submission to Audit New Zealand, incorporating the following documents:

a. Strategic Direction

b. Activity Structure

c. Draft Levels of Service / Performance Measure summary

d. Draft Development of Māori capacity to contribute to decision-making processes

e. Draft Implementation of Regional Spatial Strategy

f. Draft Groups of Activities – Activity Summaries incorporating levels of service (performance goals), and draft financial estimates for operating and capital expenditure for years one through ten for each activity.

3 Adopts the Draft Volume Two as a supporting document for submission to Audit New Zealand, incorporating the following strategies, analysis and policies:

a. Draft Financial Strategy

b. Draft Infrastructure Strategy

c. Draft Prospective Financial Statements

d. Draft Accounting Policies

e. Draft Council Controlled Organisations

f. Draft Funding Impact Statement

g. Draft Rates Funding Impact Statement

h. Draft Significant Forecasting Assumptions

i. Draft Significant Negative Effects

4 Adopts the Draft Financial Policies and Other Policies as a supporting document for submission to Audit New Zealand, incorporating the following policies:

a. Draft Revenue and Financing Funding Needs Analysis

b. Draft Revenue and Financing Policy

c. Draft Development or Environmental Contributions Policy

d. Draft Remission and Postponement of Rates Policy

e. Draft Remission and Postponement of Rates on Māori Freehold Land Policy

f. Draft Fees and Charges Policy

g. Draft Significance and Engagement Policy

5 Notes that draft policies will be adopted in March 2024 together with full Statements of Proposal for concurrent consultation with the Long Term Plan 2024-2034. These policies, which will be finalised after Council consideration of submissions, are intended to be effective from 1 July 2024 are:

a. Draft Revenue and Financing Policy

b. Draft Development or Environmental Contributions Policy

c. Draft Remission and Postponement of Rates Policy

d. Draft Remission and Postponement of Rates on Māori Freehold Land Policy

e. Draft Fees and Charges Policy

f. Draft Significance and Engagement Policy

6 Adopts the Draft Strategic Asset Management Plan and Draft Asset Management Plans, Draft Asset Management Plans on a page and the Rivers and Drainage Asset Management Plan executive summary for submission to Audit New Zealand, incorporating the following plans:

a. Draft Rivers and Drainage Asset Management Plan 2024-2074

b. Draft Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Asset Management Plan 2024-2034

c. Draft Maritime Operations Asset Management Plan 2024-2034

d. Draft Regional Parks and Catchments Asset Management Plan 2024-2034

e. Draft Property Asset Management Plan 2024-2034.

7 Adopts the Climate Change Position Statement;

8 Approves the content of the Long Term Plan Consultation Document 2024-2034 – Draft for Audit New Zealand for the purposes of submitting it to Audit New Zealand for the audit process;

9 Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to make editorial and technical amendments to the draft Long Term Plan Consultation Document 2024-2034 – Draft for Audit New Zealand and supporting documents, if required, prior to being submitted to Audit New Zealand;

10 Notes the final version of the Long Term Plan Consultation Document 2024-2034, draft Supporting Documents and draft Financial and Other Policies; following any amendments required by Audit New Zealand and for graphic design purposes, will be provided to Council for its approval in March 2024;

11 Confirms the decision has a medium level of significance as determined by the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council has identified and assessed different options and considered community views as part of making the decision, in proportion to the level of significance.

Leeder/Thompson

CARRIED

6.4

Engineering Services Panel Contract - additions and updates

Presented by: Chris Ingle – General Manager, Integrated Catchments

Key Points:

· Additions to the procurement panel and an increase to the procurement thresholds were suggested.

In Response to Questions:

· There was competition among contractors as prices were sought from the panel list but there were not open tenders for Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS).

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Engineering Services Panel Contract - additions and updates;

2 Approves additions to the Engineering Services Panel Contract as recommended under section 2.1.1 below, conditional upon Evaluation Panel approval of ‘Request for Proposals’ submissions;

3 Delegates to the Chief Executive the authority to execute new contracts for these Suppliers;

4 Approves changes to the secondary procurement process associated with the Engineering Services Panel, under section 2.1.2 below.

Thompson/White

CARRIED

6.5

Hearing Panel recommendations on submissions for Proposed Change 6 (National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020) to the Regional Policy Statement

Presented by: Samantha Pottage – Planner, Nassah Rolleston-Steed – Principal Advisor, Policy and Planning and Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy & Science

Key Points:

· Noted an error in Attachment 2, page 78 of the Agenda. Housing Bottom Line Tauranga City should read 20,090 not 21,090 and the Total should read 42900, not 42990. These changes were due to new information being received after the agenda had been published.

Key Points - Members:

· Acknowledged the new Government may cause uncertainty and suggested caution particularly regarding Plan Changes.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Hearing Panel recommendations on submissions for Proposed Change 6 (National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020) to the Regional Policy Statement, including the supporting documents listed in section 1.1 of this report;

2 Receives, adopts and records that it has had particular regard to the Section 32AA Evaluation Assessment titled ‘Proposed Change 6 (NPS-UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement: Section 32AA evaluation of changes’, dated June 2023 as part of the Councils decisions on submissions on Proposed Change 6 (NPS-UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement;

3 Receives and adopts the report and recommendations of the Hearing Panel as set out in the Hearing Panel Report titled ‘Recommendation of an Independent Hearing Panel, Proposed Change 6 to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement (NPS-UD)’, dated 19 October 2023, attached as a supporting document to the agenda, as Councils decisions on submissions on Proposed Change 6 (NPS-UD) to the Regional Policy Statement under clause 10(1) of Schedule 1 to the Resource Management Act 1991;

4 Approves public notification of its decisions on submissions on Proposed Change 6 (NPS-UD) to the Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement in accordance with clauses 10 and 11 of Schedule 1 to the Resource Management Act 1991;

5 Approves the content and steps outlined in section 3 of this report for the non-Schedule 1 Resource Management Act process to update the Regional Policy Statement, Policy UG 25B to include the updated Housing Bottom Lines for Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty as required by the National Policy Statement on Urban Development;

6 Delegates Authority to the General Manager, Strategy and Science the ability to make minor editorial changes to the Proposed Change 6 Provisions prior to notification;

7 Notes that on and from the date the decisions are publicly notified, Proposed Change 6 (NPS-UD) is amended in accordance with those decisions.

Macmillan/Leeder

CARRIED

6.6

Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (Rotorua Museum) Funding

Presentation: Rotorua Museum 14 December 2023: Objective ID A4566197

Presented by: Mark Le Comte – Principal Advisor, Finance; Mat Taylor – General Manager, Corporate; Stewart Brown – Rotorua Lakes Council (via Zoom) and Gina Rangi – Rotorua Lakes Council (via Zoom)

Key Points:

· A cultural history was provided highlighting the importance of the Museum as the coming together of cultures

· Emphasised the museum as a visitor draw card which contained exhibition space and was a place of regional and local significance; there was strong community support for the completion of the project

· The proposed changes were to ensure the building was structurally sound and compliant

· Fundraising was still required

· The 2021 BOPRC LTP had confirmed funding for exhibition fit out, this request was to reallocate the funding for the wider build.

In Response to Questions:

· It was likely the request for money would come earlier than initially planned, as the project was anticipated for completion at the end of 2026.

Key Points - Members:

· Sought assurance that staff were aware of, and would manage, the potential impacts of the timeframe change on the LTP 2024-34 budget.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (Rotorua Museum) Funding;

2 Approves that the budgeted grant for Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (Rotorua Museum) is re-allocated from exhibition costs to building costs.

Winters/Thompson

CARRIED

6.7

Partial Review of the Bay of Plenty Regional Pest Management Plan

Presented by: Lisa Power – Senior Planner, Greg Corbett – Biosecurity Manager and Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy & Science

Key Points:

· Endorsement was sought for a partial review before the mandatory 10-year review was due as the pest management landscape has changed.

In response to Questions:

· Contorta pine had no commercial value and was problematic wherever it grew

· Encouraged by the proactive nature of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) response to gold clams

· The response to Myrtle Rust was being managed by the Department of Conservation and MPI (Biosecurity NZ), and was especially challenging due to its air born spread.

Key Points - Members:

· An education programme was recommended to ensure pest species were not inadvertently brought to the region by visiting recreational boat users

· The threat of Gold Clams reaching the Rotorua Lakes was of particular concern, therefore supported consideration of a rule 7 change and changes to allow funds to be associated with Gold Clam containment next year

· Myrtle Rust required consideration within the plan as to what could be done on a landscape scale, suggested keeping a watching brief at the response to it by the Mauao Trust and partners

· The “Good Neighbour Rule” which allowed only adjacent property landowners to report pest plants on a neighbour’s property was considered as too limiting. Suggested an extension to enable the public to report pest plants, especially relating to reserve areas.

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Partial Review of the Bay of Plenty Regional Pest Management Plan;

2 Endorses a partial review of the Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP). The scope of the review relates to the management of wallabies, conifer species, wild kiwifruit, phytophtora agathicida and emerging pests;

3 Approves the minor amendments proposed in section 5 of this report;

4 Delegates to Group Manager Strategy and Science the ability to expand the partial RPMP review scope if a new pest issue arises during the review.

Winters/von Dadelszen

CARRIED

6.8

Acting Chief Executive

Presented by: Mat Taylor – General Manager, Corporate

Resolved

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Acting Chief Executive;

2 Appoints Matthew Jonathan Taylor, General Manager Corporate, as Acting Chief Executive for the period 20 December 2023 to 4 January 2024 (inclusive) and Christopher Ingle, General Manager Integrated Catchments, as Acting Chief Executive for the period 5 January 2024 to 21 January 2024 (inclusive), during a period of leave for the Chief Executive.

Thompson/Crosby

CARRIED

7. Public Excluded Section

Resolved

Tabled Document 1 - Quayside Holdings Limited - Statement of Expectations Report: Objective ID A4573241

Tabled Document 2 - Quayside Holdings Limited - Statement of Expectations - Revised post-Council 14 December 2023: Objective ID A4573238

Resolution to exclude the public

1 1 Excludes the public from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting as set out below:

The general subject 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(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:

Item No.	Subject of each matter to be considered	Reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter	Grounds under Section 48(1) for the passing of this resolution	When the item can be released into the public
10.1	Public Excluded Regional Council Minutes - 26 October 2023	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	To remain in public excluded.
10.2	Public Excluded Regional Council Minutes - 22 November 2023	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	As noted in the relevant Minutes.	To remain in public excluded.
7.3	Quayside Holdings Limited - Statement of Expectations 2024/25	Withholding the information is necessary to enable any local authority holding the information to carry out, without prejudice or disadvantage, commercial activities.	48(1)(a)(i) Section 7 (2)(h).	On the Chief Executive's approval.
10.4	Digital Enterprise Systems Roadmap	Withholding the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of the information would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information.	48(1)(a)(i) Section 7 (2)(b)(ii).	On the Chief Executive's approval.
10.5	New Regional Park opportunities	Withholding the information is necessary to enable any local authority holding the information to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations).	48(1)(a)(i) Section 7 (2)(i).	On the Chief Executive's approval.

Leeder/von Dadelszen

CARRIED

8. Closing Karakia

A karakia was provided by Cr Te Taru White.

12.35 pm – the meeting closed.

Confirmed

Chairman Doug Leeder

Chairperson, Regional Council

Date	Meeting / Engagement	Comment
4 December 2023	Meeting with Tauranga City Council Commissioner Chair Anne Tolley and Commissioner Stephen Selwood – Tauranga	Discussed parking and buses. Chief Executive Fiona McTavish and Councillors Paula Thompson, Andrew von Dadelszen and Jane Nees were also in attendance.
7 December 2023	Lodestone Energy Waiotahe Groundbreaking Ceremony - Opotiki	Celebrated breaking ground for the construction of Lodestone Energy’s third solar farm in New Zealand.
Bay of Plenty Agricultural Advisory Committee and Dinner – Te Puke	Attended.
11 December 2023	Local Government New Zealand National Council Special General Meeting – Videoconference	An opportunity to vote on the position that will be developed through the future by local government consensus process.
12 December 2023	Regional and Primary Sector Discussion on Freshwater Policy and Direction – Videoconference	Organised by Dairy NZ, Environment Canterbury, Waikato Regional Council, Federated Farmers and Beef+Lamb NZ also in attendance.
Meeting with Tauranga City Council Commission Chair Anne Tolley, Western Bay of Plenty District Council Mayor James Denyer, and the respective Chief Executive Officers and Priority One Chief Executive Nigel Tutt – Tauranga	Discussed City Deal Projects.
14 December 2023	Farewell Dinner for Sir Rob McLeod recognising his end of tenure as Quayside Chair – Mount Maunganui	Attended.
15 December 2023	Port of Tauranga Ltd Board Meeting – Mount Maunganui	Attended.
6 January 2024	Lake Rotoiti Community Association Annual General Meeting – Rotorua	Attended.
14 January 2024	Lake Tarawera Ratepayers’ Association Annual General Manager - Rotorua	Attended.
30 January 2024	Regional Sector Meeting – Videoconference	A brief check-in following the change of Government.
2 February 2024	Bay of Plenty Mayoral Forum Meeting – Tauranga	Discussed a letter inviting Hon Simeon Brown, Minister of Local Government to attend the Mayoral Forum meeting on 3 May 2024, where the forum will be discussing the strategic issues and solutions that are vital for the future of our region. A workshop was also held on the Water Infrastructure/ Three Waters Business Case Update.



Report To:	Regional Council
Meeting Date:	15 February 2024
Report Writer:	Steve Groom, Governance Manager
Report Authoriser:	Steve Groom, Governance Manager
Purpose:	Endorse proposed work programme

Assessment of Bay of Plenty Regional Council's practice in relation to the Ombudsman's "Open for Business" report on the use of workshops

Executive Summary

This report provides an assessment of the compliance of Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s practice with the recommendations made by the Ombudsman in his recent report Open for business: A report on the Chief Ombudsman’s investigation into local council meetings and workshops.

Recommendations

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Assessment of Bay of Plenty Regional Council's practice in relation to the Ombudsman's "Open for Business" report on the use of workshops

2 Notes that this paper was received by the Risk and Assurance Committee on 7 December 2023 and endorsed for consideration by Council

3 Endorses the actions identified in section 2.2 of this paper for internal implementation; and

4 Agrees that consideration should be given to live-streaming significant workshops and directs staff to amend the Council’s live-streaming policy to include the following text: “Where a public workshop is held on a matter of significant interest to the public or on matters that may eventually lead to a decision in a later formal meeting that is of a significant material impact to the services or operation of Council, the Chief Executive may direct that the workshop be live-streamed or recorded and made available on the Council’s website.”

5 Directs staff to develop a process to consider the future release of public excluded content from meetings and workshops

6 Either:

(a) Adopts a practice of division on every resolution considered by Council and core Committees, and directs staff to record how each Member votes; or

(b) Adopt a practice of division on resolutions where active decisions are required (as distinct from information only reports) and where the significance rating is ‘high’.

(c) Acknowledges the Ombudsman’s view on this matter but considers that existing practices at Bay of Plenty Regional Council sufficiently enable public transparency on debate and decision-making processes at Council.

1. Introduction

On 24 October 2023, the Ombudsman released his report Open for business: A report on the Chief Ombudsman’s investigation into local council meetings and workshops (the report). The report was initiated by the Ombudsman in August 2022 to test concerns that councils were using workshops and other informal meetings to make decisions, counter to the LGOIMA requirement that decisions are made only in the context of a properly constituted Council meeting.

The report investigated eight Councils^{^[1]}, including one regional council (Taranaki Regional Council). It found no evidence that decisions were being made in workshops, however it set a number of ‘expectations’ from the Ombudsman about practice.

Although the catalyst for the investigation was complaints regarding the use of workshops to circumvent decision-making in the open, the expectations outlined by the Ombudsman in this report cover a much broader range of topics, including organisational leadership, the operations of council and committee meetings (as opposed to workshops specifically), accessibility of meetings, and organisational structure and staffing.

In this paper we assess current practice at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council against these expectations, and set out our proposed approach where our existing practice is not aligned with these expectations.

This paper^{^[2]} was received by the Risk and Assurance Committee on 7 December 2023 and endorsed for consideration by full Council.

1.1 Legislative Framework

The Ombudsman can investigate ‘any decision or recommendation made or any act done or omitted’ by a local authority’ under section 13 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975.

In his report, the Ombudsman has set out a number of ‘expectations’ regarding practice. While it is not made clear in the report, these ‘expectations’ are not in the form of formal actionable ‘recommendations’ as allowed for under section 22 of the Ombudsmen’s Act.

Section 22 also allows for the Ombudsman to write to any agency seeking a response outlining how they intend to give effect to his recommendations. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has received no correspondence from the Ombudsman on this matter, however, this is a good opportunity for us to review our practices to ensure they are in line with the Ombudsman’s expectations as appropriate.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

The matters outlined in this paper support transparent governance, which in turn enables all aspects of the Council’s work.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

¨ Environmental

¨ Cultural

þ Social

High - positive

¨ Economic

2. Discussion

2.1 Key findings of the Ombudsman’s report

The Ombudsman noted that workshops play an important and appropriate role in effective and efficient decision-making processes:

This investigation has highlighted to me the important role that workshops play in the decision making process for councils. Provided an actual and effective decision is not made, deliberative discussion may take place in a workshop. Workshops can be an efficient use of time, in order to convey information which may be voluminous and complex to elected members, and for elected members to give council officials advice to focus their efforts on the range of tenable options. This prevents time and energy being wasted on options that aren’t realistic.

Overall, the Ombudsman did not find that Councils were using workshops to inappropriately make formal decisions or resolutions. However, he did indicate concern that processes around determining how workshops operate were not as robust and considered as they could be:

I saw no evidence in my investigation that actual and effective decisions were made in workshops, but I saw some workshop practices that are counter to the principles of openness and could contribute to a public perception that workshops are not being used in the right way.

The report highlights the importance of councils taking steps to ensure the same administrative rigour is applied to workshops as part of the decision-making process as is applied to formal meetings, and sets out some expectations to enable that:

The principles of openness and good administrative practice apply to workshops as much as any other aspect of council business. […] I expect all councils to make sure their policies and practices meet my expectations of good workshop practice. Crucially, this includes opening workshops to the public by default; closing them only where good reason exists.

The report details the Ombudsman’s findings under five themes:

· Leadership and culture: the Ombudsman found that an average of 81% of internal council staff surveyed perceived their council to be committed to openness, but that this view wasn’t necessarily shared by constituents.

· Meetings: some council’s practices around publishing agendas did not allow the public sufficient time to adequately consider the materials, some councils were excluding the public from meetings using invalid or poorly explained reasons, minutes and record-keeping at some of the councils investigated were inadequate, and a lack of consistency in considering when publicly excluded information might be able to be made public.

· Workshops: overall, workshops were not being used inappropriately, but practices around openness, publicising, and record-keeping were inconsistent.

· Accessibility: the Ombudsman was broadly pleased with the accessibility measures taken by the councils investigated, but found some room for improvement.

· Organisation structure, staffing and capability: organisational resilience and capability was highlighted as an issue in the investigation, particularly for smaller councils. The report also found that organisations with larger governance teams tended to have better approaches to openness and transparency.

2.2 The Ombudsman’s findings and our alignment with them

In total, the Ombudsman set out 25 ‘expectations’ as a result of his investigation on the five themes outlined above. As outlined in the legislative framework section of this paper, these expectations are not legally binding on the Council, however as a matter of good practice, we have assessed our current alignment and proposed improvement actions where we are not already aligned with these expectations.

Overall, Bay of Plenty Regional Council is in full alignment with 16 of the 25 (64%) expectations. We are partially aligned with a further five (20%) and not aligned with four (16%).

Attachment 1 provides a detailed outline of our current alignment with each expectation and a proposed corrective action for each expectation which we are either partially aligned or not aligned with.

In summary, our corrective actions propose that we undertake the following actions:

· Internal processes and resources:

o establish a formal pathway for staff to provide feedback on the operations of meetings and workshops, and promote that pathway to staff

o Undertake a review of training and induction material relating to meetings and workshops.

· Public-facing processes and resources:

o include an invitation to our public website users to provide views on potential improvements on our meetings and agenda web-page and content.

o revise our wording with regards to notifying an item as public excluded to specifically include our consideration of public interest.

o add a message to the "meetings" page of our public website outlining an individual's right to complain to the Ombudsman

· Council-owned decisions:

o Develop a policy on livestreaming and recording of workshops, which we will make publicly available.

o develop a process for determining when public excluded material from meetings and workshops can be made public proactively, which we will seek agreement from Council to adopt.

o seek Members' guidance on whether we should consider taking a resolution to Council to adopt a policy of recording Elected Members’ names against every vote.

We intend to begin actioning the improvements identified under the ‘internal processes and resources’ and ‘public-facing processes and resources’ headings immediately.

2.3 Council-owned decisions

As identified in the section above, there are three expectations that would benefit from a decision by Council prior to any action to respond to them. This is because they would represent a material change in the way Council business is conducted. These are:

· developing a policy on live-streaming workshops

· developing a process for proactively making available material from meetings and workshops that was previously public excluded, and

· recording names against each vote in meetings.

2.3.1 Live-streaming workshops policy

We currently have a live-streaming policy^{^[3]}. This policy clearly outlines that Council and core committee meetings that are open to the public will be live-streamed by default. It also sets out that this can be applied to “any other Public Meeting/Forum as authorised by the Chief Executive and where technology solutions can be applied.” However, the policy does not explicitly set out our approach to live-streaming workshops and we recommend that we correct this.

The Ombudsman’s suggestion that Councils “consider live-streaming workshops” appears in the “accessibility” section of his report, alongside other measures to support people with accessibility challenges understand and participate in council decision-making. It is also worth noting that this expectation is framed in a way that invites Councils to “consider” the matter, rather than the more directive approach of some of the other expectations.

While our existing policy does not demand live-streaming of workshops, we do publicly release recordings of some workshops – for example, Annual Plan and Regional Public Transport Committee workshops have public recordings available online. We also undertook an exercise to compare our practices to a sample of eight other councils (including two regional councils). At present, only one other Council in this sample (Wellington City) live-streams workshops.

Live-streaming a meeting or workshop has the effect of doubling the governance team resource required for that meeting, as we assign an advisor to start/stop and monitor the stream and to be prepared to immediately stop the streaming should events in the meeting require it. A decision to live-stream all workshops by default would have a significant resource implication for the team. It is also worth noting that as a workshop is not a decision-making forum, any matters of consequence discussed in a workshop are likely to appear at a later date in a formal decision-making meeting, which will be live-streamed by default.

Having said this, staff accept the Ombudsman’s point that live-streaming enables greater accessibility. For this reason, staff recommend that we amend our live-streaming policy to state:

“Where a public workshop is held on a matter of significant interest to the public or on matters that may eventually lead to a decision in a later formal meeting that is of a significant material impact to the services or operation of Council, the Chief Executive may direct that the workshop be live-streamed or recorded and made available on the Council’s website.”

2.3.2 Making available publicly excluded information at a later date

There are two expectations from the Ombudsman relating to proactively making previously publicly excluded information to the public. One relates to meetings and the other to workshops. Both suggest formalising a process for considering release of information previously not made available to the public.

This expectation seems reasonable. Some reasons for public exclusion are time or process bound, with the reasons for exclusion no longer applicable at a later date. An example of this would be decisions made during a procurement process, where the conclusion of the procurement process might mean the reasons for excluding the public become irrelevant when the outcome is known.

Staff have investigated how we might give effect to this expectation. For meetings, we propose to use the ‘action sheets’ process we have recently implemented, where the future release of publicly excluded information will be initiated as an item for action by staff, tracked through our action sheets.

As workshops do not result in formal decisions, we do not currently use the action sheet process for workshops. This means we will need to adopt a more manual practice in the short-term to give effect to this expectation in relation to workshops. Staff will also research whether all publicly excluded information that goes before a workshop ultimately ends up also going before a formal meeting, in which case, our policy could reflect that consideration of the release of publicly excluded materials from a workshop will be ultimately be captured by the process we put in place for meetings.

In our sample of eight other councils, three (Greater Wellington Regional, Hutt City and Dunedin) have an established practice of considering public excluded items for future release.

2.3.3 Recording of Elected Members’ votes

Of particular note is the expectation of the Ombudsman that meeting minutes should include a record of “how individual elected members’ voted”. The Ombudsman’s report frames this matter as one of ensuring that a full and accurate record of debate is created, and that decisions aren’t pre-determined outside of public meetings:

Meeting minutes should represent a full and accurate record of the content of local authority meetings. Minutes should not just record the final decision taken by elected members, but details of any debate or discussion preceding and informing the decision. In addition to aligning with principles of openness and accountability, recording the content of discussion and debate is a safeguard against any perception that decisions have been taken prior to the meeting, and are merely being ‘rubber stamped’ in the meeting setting. Though it is not a legislative requirement, I consider it is good administrative practice, and in the interests of accountability, to record the names of elected members who voted ‘for’ and ‘against’ resolutions and motions.

This practice would represent a significant departure from our current practice, and presents a number of potential issues including:

· a risk that consensus or consultative decision-making is stifled, with elected members being placed directly in a confrontational process that forces an entrenched position that might not otherwise arise in a process that focusses on a more collaborative approach to decision-making

· a reduction of efficiency and reduced time in meetings for discussion, with the calling for, tabulating and recording of votes likely to take a significant amount of time, particularly in meetings with a large number of resolutions.

In our sample of eight other councils, only one (Wellington City) have an established practice of recording Elected Member’s votes on every resolution. A number of Councils have expressed concern about this expectation.

It is also worth noting that all Council and Core Committee meetings are live-streamed by default, meaning that the public has full and on-going access to all debate and discussion that occurs in the meeting, irrespective of what is captured in the minutes. Alongside this, Members can at any point call for division or request to have their opposition or abstention on a motion noted in the record.

It is possibly not entirely appropriate for staff to provide a recommendation on this point, as it goes to the heart of the conduct of debate and discussion between Elected Members, for which Members themselves are accountable. For this reason, we have presented a recommendation with options, including an option where this expectation could be implemented, but only for substantive or significant resolutions.

We would note that we are not aware of any demands from the public for this practice to be instituted at Bay of Plenty Regional Council. In addition the combination of live-streaming of meetings and the fulsome minutes that we produce mitigate the risk that the Ombudsman has identified regarding a lack of transparency of debate, discussion and auditable decision-making processes amongst Elected Members.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

There are no significant risks presented in this paper. The main risk identified is that the Council may attract criticism if their practices aren’t in alignment with the Ombudsman’s expectations. Completion of the corrective actions identified in this report will largely mitigate this risk.

3.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

3.3 Implications for Māori

There are no direct implications for Māori as this is paper considers matters of a procedural nature. However, we do note that the expectation that each individual Elected Members’ vote is named and recorded presents a risk to collaborative approaches to decision-making and does not align particularly well with tikanga Māori approaches to decision-making.

3.4 Community Engagement

Engagement with the community is not required as the recommended proposal / decision [relates to internal Council matters only].

3.5 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

Council staff intend to progress the implementation of the corrective actions identified in this report, except for the three actions under the ‘council-owned decisions’ heading above. With regards to the ‘council-owned decisions’ staff will take action consistent with decisions made by Council on this paper.

If it would be beneficial to Council, staff could return to a future meeting to update on progress implementing the actions identified in this report.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Ombudsman's expectations in detail A3 ⇩



Report To:	Regional Council
Meeting Date:	15 February 2024
Report Writer:	Gillian Payne, Principal Advisor; Mark Le Comte, Principal Advisor, Finance and Kumaren Perumal, Chief Financial Officer
Report Authoriser:	Mat Taylor, General Manager, Corporate
Purpose:	The purpose of this report is to present the Annual Report for Regional Software Holdings Limited (RSHL) for the year ending 30 June 2023.

Regional Software Holdings Limited Annual Report for Year Ending 30 June 2023

Executive Summary

Regional Software Holdings Limited (RSHL) is owned by nine regional councils and unitary authorities, with a primary objective to provide a framework for collaboration and shared services on behalf of Te Uru Kahika, (the Regional Council sector).

RSHL supports the procurement and development of shared solutions to provide greater consistency across New Zealand and cost effectiveness that cannot be achieved by individual Councils.

Council has recently received the audited RSHL Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 (Attachment 1).

RSHL report that they achieved all of their 14 performance targets for the year and had an operating surplus (after tax) of $2.6 million which increased their total equity to $6.8 million

Recommendations

That the Regional Council:

1 Receives the report, Regional Software Holdings Limited Annual Report for year ending 30 June 2023.

1. Introduction

The purpose of this report is to present Council with the Regional Software Holdings Limited (RSHL) Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 (Attachment 1).

RSHL is owned by nine regional councils and unitary authorities, with a primary objective to provide a framework for collaboration and shared services on behalf of the Regional Council sector.

RSHL supports the procurement and development of shared solutions to provide greater consistency across New Zealand and cost effectiveness that cannot be achieved by individual Councils.

1.1 Legislative Framework

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has an 11% percent shareholding in the Class A shares of RSHL, having become a shareholder in November 2022. RSHL is a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) owned by Bay of Plenty Regional Council and eight other councils.

Section 67 of the Local Government Act 2002 requires Council Controlled Organisations to send its shareholders an annual report by 30 September each year. RSHL’s unaudited draft results were included in Council’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023.

The audited RSHL Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 was delayed due to audit availability.

1.2 Alignment with Strategic Framework

A Healthy Environment
Freshwater for Life
Safe and Resilient Communities
A Vibrant Region
The Way We Work	We look to partnerships for best outcomes.

Pursuing savings through shared services is an important strategy for Council to deliver better value for money to the Bay of Plenty community.

1.2.1 Community Well-beings Assessment

Dominant Well-Beings Affected

¨ Environmental

¨ Cultural

¨ Social

¨ Economic

Low - Positive

Shared services provide for efficient delivery of services.

2. RSHL Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023

2.1 Financial results

RSHL achieved a surplus before tax of $3.3 million against a budgeted loss of $0.7 million. The QSHL Board advises that the favourable position is largely due to timing differences in planned expenditure for work programmes.

2.2 Non-financial performance

RSHL achieved all of its 14 performance targets for the year.

The RHSL board advises that the Partnership Agreement for IRIS NextGen has been signed by nine councils and that a pilot implementation is intended to start in July 2024.

3. Considerations

3.1 Risks and Mitigations

There are no material risks related to the RSHL Annual Report.

3.2 Climate Change

The matters addressed in this report are of a procedural nature and there is no need to consider climate change impacts.

3.3 Implications for Māori

There are no implications for Māori from this report.

3.4 Community Engagement

INFORM

Whakamōhio

To provide affected communities with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problems, alternatives and/or solutions.

The RSHL Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 will be published on the Council website for public information as required by the Local Government Act.

3.5 Financial Implications

There are no material unbudgeted financial implications and this fits within the allocated budget.

4. Next Steps

The RSHL Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2023 will be published on Council’s website.

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Regional Software Holdings Limited Annual Report for the year ending 30 June 2023 ⇩

[1] Rotorua Lakes Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Taupō District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Rangitīkei District Council, Waimakariri District Council, Timaru District Council and Clutha District Council.

[2] The paper has been amended slightly to reflect the decisions requested from Council in this paper. In particular, section 2.3 ‘Council-owned decisions’ (and its sub-sections) has been significantly expanded to provide more comprehensive information to enable suitable consideration of the recommendations by Council.

[3] Available at: www.boprc.govt.nz/your-council/meetings-and-agendas/meeting-process