Auckland Council agency review: $800k and done by July

Friday, 22 November 2019

Plans for Auckland's downtown were targeting completion by December 2020.

Auckland Council's long-promised review of its 'council-controlled organisations' such as Auckland Transport should be completed by July 2020.

The broad parameters of an independent review of the five agencies will be signed-off by councillors next week in an exercise expected to cost between $500-800,000.

Some agencies such as Auckland Transport became political cannon-fodder in the October elections, with accusations that they were unaccountable and out of control.

Phil Goff announced the review of council organisations in his 2019 election campaign

A three-person independent panel will be set-up to assess the effectiveness of the CCOs, and how accountable they are to the council.

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The CCOs were part of the structure created under legislation which in 2010 set up the amalgamated Auckland Council, and are responsible for 55 per cent of the council's operational spending.

The review had been an election policy of both the mayor Phil Goff, and his main challenger John Tamihere.

Auckland Transport, Watercare, Panuku Development, Regional Facilities Auckland, and ATEED, each have their own boards of directors, and operate within a series of agreements between the CCO and the council, to which they report quarterly.

'There is widespread concern by Aucklanders that having operational decisions made by non-elected bodies means there is no way of ensuring CCOs listen to community concerns and respond to them,' Goff said in his election policy statement in May.

'While they must operate in a commercially efficient way, they are still public bodies funded by Aucklanders and need to carry their communities with them,' he said.

Among the reviews terms of reference, is to determine the perceived and real issues with the current model, and whether there are better alternatives including merging CCOs or bringing some of their activities back within the council itself.

A report to councillors next week said while the proposed timeframe was tight, it should be done soon.

'A review of this nature creates both commercial risk for the CCOs and uncertainty for their staff,' said the report.

The council proposed the reviewers complete a draft report by May 2020, with final recommendations by July.

Stakeholders, including the public, are expected to have their say in the first three months of 2020.