Meeting of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Date: Wednesday 25 November 2020
Time: 11.00am
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Venue: |
Council Chamber Hawke's Bay Regional Council 159 Dalton Street NAPIER |
Agenda
Item Title Page
Decision Items
15. Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund 3
Wednesday 25 November 2020
Subject: Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund
Reason for Report
1. This item seeks Council’s decision on a contribution to the Mayoral Relief Fund to provide assistance to the people adversely affected by the 9 November Napier Flood event.
Officers’ Recommendation(s)
2. Staff recommend that Council contributes $100,000 from the Regional Disaster Damage Reserve to be used specifically for supporting people for essential items for daily life that are not covered by insurance or other agency funding. The hardship grants are intended to some way towards helping to alleviate the emotional and financial stress experienced by individuals and families due to the 9 November 2020 Napier Flood.
3. Furthermore, staff recommend that Council acknowledges Napier City Council has agreed the qualifying criteria for disbursing the fund with Central Government.
Financial and Resource Implications
4. As at 30 June 2020, Council holds $2.13 million in the Regional Disaster Damage Reserve for the purposes of providing funding for the cost of managing the response and the recovery to a disaster event. As there was a local state of emergency declared this funding becomes available for funding the Napier flood event.
5. The funding does not have any rates impact in the current year as the funding is provided from Reserve Funds.
Other Considerations
6. Central government contributed $100,000 to establish the fund.
Decision Making Process
7. 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:
7.1. The decision does not significantly alter the service provision or affect a strategic asset.
7.2. The use of the special consultative procedure is not prescribed by legislation.
7.3. The decision is not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy.
7.4. The decision is not inconsistent with an existing policy or plan.
7.5. Given the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided, and also the persons likely to be affected by, or have an interest in the decisions made, Council can exercise its discretion and make a decision without consulting directly with the community or others having an interest in the decision.
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That Hawke’s Bay Regional Council: 1. Receives and considers the “Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund” staff report. 2. 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 this issue without conferring directly with the community or persons likely to have an interest in the decision. 3. Agrees to contribute $100,000 to the Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund, to be funded from the Regional Disaster Damage Reserve. |
Authored by:
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Bronda Smith Chief Financial Officer |
Ian Macdonald Group Manager/Controller |
Approved by:
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Jessica Ellerm Group Manager Corporate Services |
James Palmer Chief Executive |
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⇩1 |
NCC Flood Response Fund Fact Sheet |
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⇩2 |
Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund Policy |
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⇩3 |
Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Fund Panel Terms of Reference |
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⇩4 |
NCC - Flood Response Fund Application form |
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Attachment 2 |
Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund Policy
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on how the Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund (the fund) will be managed and funds distributed.
The fund has been established to accept monetary donations from people/organisations who wish to offer financial support in the wake of the Napier Floods 2020 (the flood) and will be opened at the discretion of the Mayor to assist Napier City residents or ratepayers adversely affected by the flood.
The fund offers a one-off hardship grant to affected residents or ratepayers for damage or hardship incurred as a result of the flood.
It is intended that these grants go some way towards helping to alleviate the emotional and financial stress experienced by individuals and families due to the flood.
Policy
1. Eligibility
1.1. The fund is available to Napier City residents and/or ratepayers who have suffered personal financial or emotional hardship as a result of the flood.
1.2. In order to be eligible for the grant:
1.2.1. Applicants must, at the time of their application, be experiencing hardship (financial or emotional) as a result of the flood;
1.2.2. Priority will be given to those who were a resident (owner/occupier or occupier) or ratepayer in Napier City at the time of the event; and
1.2.3. Notwithstanding 1.2.2, where exceptional circumstances apply, other applications may be considered at the discretion of the deciding panel.
1.2.4. Applicants should not be eligible for funding assistance from any other source for the same item/s. (The applicant may still be eligible if that funding assistance has not substantially reduced the financial loss or hardship suffered).
1.3. Priority will be given to applications for:
1.3.1. Essential items/essentials of daily life (e.g. food, accommodation, utilities, clothing, essential whitewear such as fridges) not covered by insurance or other funds (such as Work and Income, EQC);
1.3.2. Extra financial burden/costs due to the flood not covered by insurance or other funds; and
1.3.3. Family or personal crisis, support for which is not covered by insurance, another agency or fund (such as MSD).
1.4. Only one application per household will be considered.
1.5. The fund does not apply to businesses affected by an emergency event.
2. Application Process
2.1. Where an emergency event has caused damage or hardship, the Napier City Council Mayor shall, at her discretion, release details of the fund including bank details for those seeking to make a donation, and invite applications for grants.
2.2. For each identified event, an application period will be notified. Applications must be received using the completed form available at the time of applications being invited.
2.3. Applicants must answer all questions on the application form and provide information supporting their application and demonstrating that their circumstances are due to the identified emergency event.
3. Allocation of Funds
3.1. The Mayor will, on opening the fund, establish a deciding panel consisting of the Mayor or her delegated person, a councillor, and a community representative.
3.2. The deciding panel will assess applications according to the purpose of the fund and in line with the criteria specified in 1.2. Only one application will be considered for each household. As individual’s circumstances are unique, the criteria for assistance may vary and the deciding panel hold full discretion regarding the fund’s distribution. The amount of the grant will depend on the individual circumstances of the applicant and the funds available.
3.3. On submission, applications and any supporting information will be provided to the deciding panel as per 3.1. All applications will be documented as received.
3.4. Responses to applications will be provided within two weeks of the application being received. At that time, the deciding panel will advise successful applicants when the funds will be made available.
3.5. Grants will be paid directly into a bank account in the name of the applicant (or into a joint account where the name of the applicant is one of the joint names on the account).
3.6. In the event that there is money remaining in the fund, the Council will identify projects which will benefit the community in the areas most affected by the event(s). Any remaining funds will be put towards those projects.
4. Use of the Grant
4.1. When the grant is awarded, it may be used for any purpose related to the flood. Applicants will not be required to provide evidence of how the grant funds have been used. However, if on inquiry the funds are found to have been fraudulently obtained or used for an unrelated purpose, the Council may seek to recover these funds and/or the applicant may be ineligible for assistance in relation to any future events.
5. Privacy
5.1. The application form requires you to provide personal information in order to process your application. Council will meet its legislative obligations under the Privacy Act 1993 with regard to any personal information held.
5.2. Any information will be held by Napier City Council. You may access and seek correction of this information as provided for by the Privacy Act 1993.
Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund Policy
Effective date: 17 November 2020
Review date: 11 December 2020
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Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Fund Panel Terms of Reference |
Attachment 3 |
Napier City Mayoral Relief Flood Response Fund (Fund) Panel Terms of Reference
Appointment of the Fund Panel
The Mayor shall appoint a Fund Panel consisting of:
· The Mayor (or her delegate)
· A Councillor
· A community representative
Requirements of the Fund Panel Members
Panel members shall agree to the following:
· Be available following the application period to consider and decide on the Fund grants;
· Declare any conflict of interest or any potential conflict of interest to be recorded, and stand aside from those particular decisions if required;
· Observe strict confidentiality in managing personal information provided in applications to the fund.
Process for Considering Applications to the Fund
The deciding process will be supported by the Napier City Council Welfare Team.
· Applications will be assessed and forwarded to the Fund Panel for decision as they are received.
· Approval of applications will be done via email as they are received by the Fund Panel.
· Approval will granted upon receipt of approval from at least two Fund Panel Members.
Review
Total funds remaining will be monitored by the Napier City Council Welfare Team.
Review of the application period will be conducted by the Fund Panel on 11 December 2020.
