HAWKE’S BAY REGIONAL COUNCIL
Wednesday 01 April 2020
Subject: Chief Executive
Delegations and COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill
Reason for Report
1. This item
updates Council on the provisions of the COVID-19
Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill (Covid-19 Bill)
and clarifies the delegations made to the Chief Executive to ensure that urgent
decisions can be made, in specified situations, during the COVID-19 pandemic
event.
Executive Summary
2. Council must
continue to provide essential services and carry out its functions remotely
during the pandemic, and in particular while the level 4 lockdown restrictions
and the National Declaration are in place. Two enabling measures put in place
recently are:
2.1. Central Government’s COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation
Bill enacted on 25 March 2020 amends the Local Government Act (LGA) and Local
Government Official Information & Meetings Act (LGOIMA) to enable meetings
to continue using audio-visual means during the crisis;
2.2. Council resolved delegations to
the Chief Executive to enable urgent decision-making under specific conditions.
Background/Discussion
3. The World
Health Organisation (WHO) declared a world-wide novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, to which the New Zealand Government responded with a range of
measures, including:
3.1. the 21 March
2020 announcement of a 4 level alert system
3.2. the 23 March
move from Level 2 to Level 3 and advice of the move, from 11.59pm on 25 March,
to “Alert 4” status.
4. The Local
Government Act 2002 (clauses 23 and 25A of Schedule 7) requires that only those
members physically present at a meeting can be counted towards a quorum, as
confirmed by the Council’s external lawyers, Simpson Grierson.
5. In anticipation
of physical meetings becoming difficult as the situation worsened, and in order
to provide the ability for some meetings to continue Council, at its meeting on
18 March 2020, agreed by resolution that:
5.1. Temporarily, for the period 18
March through to 24 June 2020, specifies the quorum for the Environment &
Integrated Catchments Committee, the Corporate & Strategic Committee, the
Hearings Committee, the Regional Transport Committee, the Finance, Audit &
Risk Sub-committee and the CDEM Group Joint Committee to be two members
physically present.
5.2. Reviews the quorum requirements
for all Council committees, including joint committees, on or before 24 June
2020.
5.3. Subsequently, given that
in-person meetings were to be prohibited from midnight on 25 March the
Council further resolved in anticipation to:
5.4. Suspend
delegations to the Corporate & Strategic and Environment & Integrated
Catchments committees and the Finance, Audit & Risk Sub-committee
5.5. Suspend Standing Order 10.1 requiring that a majority of councillors
must be physically present to be counted toward the quorum
5.6. Meets virtually as a full Council in lieu of the Corporate &
Strategic, Environment & Integrated Catchments and Finance, Audit &
Risk committees until 22 April 2020, or such time as Covid-19 restrictions are
lifted.
6. As a
contingency and only for the purposes of decision-making during the COVID-19
pandemic, Council also resolved (on 25 March 2020):
6.1. Notes that
Council considers it is prudent to authorise the Chief Executive or Group
Manager delegate (while the Government’s alert levels make meetings of
Council impossible) to make urgent decisions in specified situations.
6.2. Makes
delegations to the Chief Executive (or Group Manager delegate), which include
appropriate conditions as set out, to make urgent decisions during the COVID-19
pandemic and while the Government’s alert levels make meetings of Council
impractical as follows.
6.2.1. With
immediate effect and until the Government reduces the alert level status, to
enable meetings of the Regional Council to be held as normally:
6.2.2. Delegates
to the Chief Executive all of the Council’s powers, duties and
responsibilities, except for those powers, duties and responsibilities that the
Council is not legally able to delegate.
6.2.3. Authorises
the Chief Executive to approve expenditure, to approve the foregoing of
revenue, or to take any other steps not provided for in the Long Term Plan or
Annual Plan, that are necessary for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to
maintain public transport services and/or to maintain necessary business
continuity within Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.
6.2.4. The
exercise of this delegation is subject to the following conditions.
6.2.5. An
urgent decision is required to:
6.2.6. Enable the discharge of the
Council’s health and safety duties – this is of particular
importance and relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such decisions would
include actions to protect employees and contractors;
6.2.7. Implement the range of
measures (acting under the relevant COVID-19 alert level) directed or issued as
guidance by the Government, relevant Ministers, or agencies. This ensures that
any decisions are aligned with, and support, the official government position;
or
6.2.8. Respond to any issues that
arise as a result of the prevailing COVID-19 alert level or any other urgent
matter.
6.3. Prior to exercising this delegation, the Chief Executive
must obtain the endorsement to the proposed decision from a Chairperson in the
following order of precedence:
6.3.1. Council Chairman
6.3.2. Council Deputy Chairman
6.3.3. Corporate & Strategic Committee Chairman
6.3.4. Any Committee Chairperson.
6.4. The exercise of the delegation and the decision must be
reported by the Chief Executive to Councillors as soon as practicable and
reported to the first available Council meeting.
Covid-19 Bill Provisions to Enable Local
Government Meetings
7. Quite simply,
the Bill:
7.1. Suspends the LGA provisions
requiring that members must be physically present to count toward the quorum;
meaning that audio-visual attendees are now counted and therefore meetings
legally ‘constituted’ as long as the majority of members are online
7.2. Suspends the LGOIMA provisions
requiring that the public must be able to physically attend meetings, in favour
of meetings being live streamed and/or recorded and made available to the
public
7.3. Suspends the LGOIMA provisions
requiring that agenda and minutes documents are made available in hard copy to
members of the public, and instead considers that making documents available
electronically is sufficient.
CE Delegations
8. At the meeting
on 25 March 2020, Councillors sought clarity around the delegations to the
Chief Executive and the conditions under which those might be exercised. The
attached has been amended and finalised to provide that clarity.
Financial and resource Implication,
compliance and communication
9. There are no
specific financial implications arising from the matters discussed. Any
financial implications of decisions made under the delegation will be addressed
as part of that decision-making process.
Risk assessment and legal compliance
10. This proposal allows the
Council to respond quickly to risks as they arise. It is consistent with the
statutory framework that the Council operates within.
Significance and engagement
11. Staff consider that these
matters are of low significance due to their procedural nature.
Decision Making Process
12. Council and its committees
are required to make every decision in accordance with the requirements of the
Local Government Act 2002 (the Act). Staff have assessed the requirements in
relation to this item and have concluded:
12.1. The decision
does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset.
12.2. The use
of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation.
12.3. The
decisions are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s
adopted Significance and Engagement Policy.
12.4. The
decisions are not inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.
12.5. Given
the nature and significance of the issues to be considered and decided, Council
can exercise its discretion and make these decisions without consulting
directly with the community or others having an interest in the decision.
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Recommendations
That
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council:
1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the
criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement
Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion and make decisions on
these issues without conferring directly with the community and persons
likely to have an interest in the decision.
2. Agrees that the provisions of the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures)
Legislation Bill supersede the Council’s previous resolutions to set
the quorum of all Committees to two members physically present and to suspend
Standing Order 10.1 requiring
that a majority of councillors must be physically present to be counted
toward the quorum.
3. Agrees that sufficient clarity has been provided in relation to
the delegations made to the Chief Executive, to apply for the period while
the epidemic notice for Covid-19 is in force.
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Authored by:
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Leeanne
Hooper
Governance Lead
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Approved by:
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Joanne
Lawrence
Group Manager Office of the Chief Executive
and Chair
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James Palmer
Chief Executive
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Attachment/s
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⇩1
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COVID-19
Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill
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⇩2
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Delegations
to Chief Executive for Decision-making during COVID-19 Pandemic
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