5.1 Governing Body meetings and committees

How matters come before the Governing Body

Reports

Reports may arise through the:

Governing Body or committee asking for a report
chief executive arranging for a report
through the chair providing a report.

The chief executive may delay the commissioning of a report if it does not fall within a committee’s delegations or if there is a substantial cost associated with the report’s production [1].

The chair may also bring matters to the attention of the Governing Body or committee through a report if the matter is within the committee’s remit [2].

Items not on the agenda

Items can sometimes be raised at a meeting that are not on the agenda. Reasons for urgency and an explanation for the item not being on the agenda must be provided at the meeting.

Items not on the agenda may be raised by the chief executive or chair. A verbal report may be provided at the meeting if there is not time to provide a written report. At the chair’s discretion, Governing Body or committee members may also raise items not on the agenda [3].

Minor items not on the agenda

The chair has the discretion to accept discussion on minor items [4]. However, the Governing Body or committee cannot make any resolutions, other than to refer to another meeting for further discussion. If the chair chooses to accept a minor item, they must acknowledge at the beginning of the public section of the meeting that this item will be discussed [5].

Notices of motion

A member of the Governing Body may give notice of a motion they propose to move at a meeting. The mover must sign the notice, stating at which meeting they want it to be considered. The notice must be delivered to the chief executive at least five working days before the meeting [6].

For further information on notices of motion, refer to Standing Orders of the Governing Body.

Meeting processes

 At Governing Body or committee meetings, council staff members present reports and recommendations. This is followed by questions and debate. The process is guided by the Standing Orders of the Governing Body. For a simplified guide to Auckland Council meetings, visit What to expect at an Auckland Council meeting.

Public access and input

Members of the public are welcome to attend all open sections of meetings. Key meetings are webcast and available at Auckland Council live stream on Auckland Council's website. For further information on key meetings, see Agendas and Minutes.  

Members of the public can ask to speak at any open meeting of the Governing Body. Up to 30 minutes will be allocated at the start of the meeting for public input [7]. Speaking requests need to be made to the council’s governance advisor team at least one clear working day before the meeting. For information on who to contact, see Committee members and contacts on Auckland Council's website.

The request must state the subject and be directed to the appropriate committee. The same presentation cannot be made to more than one committee unless the speaker has been referred on [8].

Once received by the governance advisor, requests will be referred to the chair of the respective committee for their consideration. The chair has the discretion to accept or decline requests in accordance with Standing Orders.

How often meetings are held

The meeting schedule of the Governing Body and its committees is adopted by the Governing Body.

Either the head of governance support or general manager of governance and engagement may be delegated the authority to make minor changes to the meeting schedule. However, changes to the frequency of committee meetings (for instance, increasing monthly meetings to fortnightly) affect the Governing Body’s terms of reference and need to be approved by the Governing Body. If an additional (extraordinary or emergency) meeting is required, the chair may request this through a letter to the chief executive [9].

Quorum

The quorum for Governing Body and committees of the whole meetings is 11 members. The quorum for other committees is currently half the members if the number is even, or the majority of members if the number is odd [10]. The Governing Body sets committee quorums by resolution or through the committee’s terms of reference.

The quorum must be reached for the meeting to begin [11]. The meeting must lapse and the chairperson vacate the chair if there is no quorum within 30 minutes of the start of the meeting. However, the chair has the discretion to extend this time by up to 10 minutes if there are members travelling to the meeting who have been delayed by traffic or weather [12]. The business of lapsed Governing Body meetings will be adjourned until the next ordinary Governing Body meeting [13].

If the members leave during a meeting and quorum is lost, the business of the meeting will be suspended. If quorum is not obtained within 10 minutes, the meeting must lapse and the chairperson will vacate the chair. The business of the meeting will be adjourned until the next ordinary meeting [14].

Voting and decisions

Decisions of the Governing Body or committee are determined by a majority vote of members present and voting unless the Local Government Act or the standing orders provide otherwise. The Auckland Council Standing Orders of the Governing Body provide for the chair to have a casting vote if the votes are equal. Members may abstain from voting and may request their abstention be recorded in the minutes if a division is called for [15].

Changes to officers' recommendations

It is not appropriate for an elected member to seek to change officer recommendations before the meeting. Recommendations reflect officer advice. The Governing Body will consider the advice at the meeting and decide how to apply it when making a decision, including by proposing different wording to that in the officer report, through amendments if necessary. The chair can also put forward a differently worded motion at the start of the item.

Confidential information at meetings

Meetings may exclude the public if confidential information would likely be disclosed from discussing a matter of business in public, and there is a good reason for keeping the information confidential.

It is not enough that the information is seen to be “confidential” instead, the Governing Body must rely on one of the set grounds in the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. The Governing Body must weigh up whether the reason for keeping it confidential is outweighed by other considerations that make it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available). Visit Council-held information for more information.

Process to exclude the public

To exclude the public, the meeting must pass a resolution to exclude the public, giving reasons for the exclusion, while the public is still there. When it is time to discuss the item, members of the public will then leave. Governing Body members will remain, together with any staff needed for the item, and any person with knowledge that is required to assist the Governing Body with that item. The resolution to exclude the public will specify the person, and describe generally the knowledge that the person has, and how it is relevant to the item [16].

The Governing Body is committed to ensuring as much information is made public as possible and, in some cases, a report may be split into two so that non-confidential elements are on the public part of the agenda.

Managing confidential information

Staff will advise members when information is confidential. Governing Body reports will be marked as confidential and the public excluded when the chief executive (or delegate) reasonably expects confidential information to be discussed. While the information is treated as confidential for the purposes of the meeting, it is important councillors understand whether the information remains confidential after the meeting. To assist, the Governing Body has a process of using restatements, where the Governing Body meeting makes a resolution noting if the information is to be restated in the public minutes.

Releasing confidential information

Even if the Governing Body meeting has not made a restatement, the information may still be released if there is a LGOIMA request or the reason for confidentiality no longer applies. There is no legal requirement to advise councillors when information is no longer confidential but it can be useful to make sure there are no surprises, and that elected members know when they can discuss a matter publicly.

Committee membership

Governing Body members

The committees of the Governing Body are outlined in Auckland Council's Governing Body Terms of Reference. Regardless of whether they are members of the committee or not, any Governing Body member has the right to attend meetings. However, non-members are not able to vote on any matters arising at a meeting [17]. This standing order does not apply in the case of judicial or quasi-judicial deliberations [18].

Houkura - Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB)

In 2009, Houkura (previously known as IMSB) was established to ensure that Auckland Council acts in accordance with the statutory provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi. Houkura promotes issues of cultural, economic and environmental significance for mana whenua and mataawaka in Tāmaki Makaurau [19]. For more information on Houkura visit the Houkura website.

Houkura must appoint one or two representatives to each Governing Body committee that deals with the management of natural or physical resources, or to other committees at the invitation of the Governing Body. Houkura members contribute to the quorum of a committee [20]. 

Houkura members are subject to standing orders when taking part in council meetings.

Types of committees

To enable efficient decision-making, the Governing Body can delegate powers to committees. It is not expected to make all decisions for which it has responsibility itself. While the mayor determines the committee structure, the Governing Body is responsible for deciding to delegate powers to the committees. These responsibilities are outlined in the terms of reference.

The practise has been for the Governing Body to delegate to committees all the powers necessary for them to perform their duties (except those powers which cannot be delegated). This delegation has occurred with the adoption of the terms of reference for each committee.

The mayor, deputy mayor and all councillors are members of committees of the whole. The mayor can determine what these committees will look like and how many there are. Committees of the whole are sometimes known as parent committees as smaller committees may report to them. For more information, visit The Mayor of Auckland.

Standing Orders for committees of the whole, particularly those relating to the rules of debate, may differ from those of other committees. However, these are generally consistent with the standing orders of the Governing Body [21].

Parent committees may also delegate responsibilities and key projects to ‘reporting committees’ (technically sub-committees). These sub-committees can make recommendations to parent committees on matters beyond their delegated authority. Reporting committees do not have to report to their parent committees for all decisions.

Committees that do not report to parent committees are known as ‘other committees’ or ‘standing committees’. Some of these committees may have delegations to make their own decisions.

Committee chairs

The mayor must chair all Governing Body meetings unless absent or they vacate the chair, in which case the deputy mayor presides. If neither the mayor nor the deputy mayor is available, the Governing Body must elect a chair for that meeting [22].

The mayor may appoint a chair and deputy chair for each Governing Body committee. They also have the ability to become chair of any committee [23].

The chairperson must chair each meeting of their respective committee, unless they are absent or vacates the chair, in which case the deputy chair presides.  Deputy chairs may be appointed by the mayor or by committees at their first meetings. If neither the chair nor the deputy is present, the committee will elect a chair for that meeting [24].