5.3.5 Types of committees
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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.
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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.
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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, see Section 4: The Mayor of Auckland.
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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 [1].
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Parent committees delegate responsibilities and key projects to ‘reporting committees’ (technically sub-committees). These 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.
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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.