4.1.1 Leading and influencing the council’s work

 

  1. The mayor is the council’s elected leader and chair of the governing body [1]. The mayor’s role is outlined in legislation and has also developed over time by convention. To perform the role, the mayor is provided with staff and resources, as well as specific statutory powers. Each mayor of Auckland has a degree of flexibility in how to interpret and perform the role.

  2. The mayor has a strong leadership role with substantial influencing and procedural powers in relation to the council’s work. However, the entities legally and democratically responsible for the council’s formal decisions are the governing body and the local boards [2] [3]. The mayor does not have executive powers to make decisions instead of the governing body or local boards, nor the power to prevent (or veto) governing body or local board decisions. 

Articulating and promoting a vision for Auckland:

  1. The mayor’s foremost role, as outlined in legislation, is to articulate and promote a vision for Auckland, and to provide leadership to achieve objectives that will contribute to that vision [4]. This role relates to the mayor’s function within the council, as well in the broader public sphere.

  2. In practice, one of the ways the mayor has articulated a vision for Auckland has been through leading the development of the council’s spatial plan for Auckland – the Auckland Plan [5].

 

 

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