Extraordinary Meeting of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Date: Wednesday 1 April 2020
Time: 10.00am
Venue: |
Council Chamber Hawke's Bay Regional Council 159 Dalton Street NAPIER |
Agenda
Item Subject Page
1. Welcome/Apologies/Notices
2. Conflict of Interest Declarations
3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Council Meeting held on 25 March 2020
4. 1 April 2020 Update on Significant Organisational Activities 3
Information or Performance Monitoring
5. Chief Executive Delegations and COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill 27
Wednesday 01 April 2020
SUBJECT: 1 April 2020 Update on Significant Organisational Activities
Reason for Report
1. The commentary attached is for Councillors’ information, to highlight significant areas of Council activity and provide an update on the status of initiatives and work programmes through the lens of staff working from home during the current Covid-19 national emergency declaration.
Executive Summary
2. Currently, the most significant impacts on the organisation are related to the national response to Covid-19.
Decision Making Process
3. Staff have assessed the requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 in relation to this item and have concluded that, as this report is for information only, the decision making provisions do not apply.
That the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council receives and notes the 1 April 2020 Update on Significant Activities staff report. |
Authored by:
Desiree Cull Strategy and Projects Leader |
Peter Davis Manager Environmental Information |
Ceri Edmonds Manager Policy and Planning |
Dean Evans Manager Catchments Delivery |
Craig Goodier Team Leader Engineering |
Martina Groves Manager Regional Projects |
Nathan Heath Catchment Manager (Wairoa/Mohaka) |
Dr Andy Hicks Team Leader/Principal Scientist Water Quality and Ecology |
Dr Kathleen Kozyniak Principal Scientist (Air) |
Campbell Leckie Manager Catchment Services |
Dr Barry Lynch Team Leader/Principal Scientist (Land Science) |
Anna Madarasz-Smith Team Leader/Principal Scientist Marine and Coast |
Malcolm Miller Manager Consents |
Mark Mitchell Team Leader/Principal Advisor, Biosecurity/Biodiversity |
Martin Moore Harbourmaster |
Thomas Petrie Project Manager Environmental Hotspots |
Brendan Powell Manager Catchments Policy Implementation |
Anne Redgrave Transport Manager |
Dr Jeff Smith Manager Scientist |
Jolene Townshend Senior Advisor Integrated Catchment Management |
Thomas Wilding Team Leader Hydrology Hydrogeology |
Nick Zaman Manager Compliance |
Approved by:
Chris Dolley Group Manager Asset Management |
Liz Lambert Group Manager Regulation |
Iain Maxwell Group Manager Integrated Catchment Management |
Tom Skerman Group Manager Strategic Planning |
⇩1 |
Asset Management Group Significant Activities Update |
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⇩2 |
Corporate Services Significant Activities Update |
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⇩3 |
ICM Group Significant Activities Update |
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⇩4 |
Māori Partnerships Significant Activities Update |
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⇩5 |
OCEC Significant Activities Update |
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⇩6 |
Regulation Significant Activities Update |
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⇩7 |
Strategic Planning Significant Activities Update |
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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.
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:
Leeanne Hooper Governance Lead |
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Approved by:
Joanne Lawrence Group Manager Office of the Chief Executive and Chair |
James Palmer Chief Executive |
⇩1 |
COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill |
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⇩2 |
Delegations to Chief Executive for Decision-making during COVID-19 Pandemic |
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