Across Auckland, 21 new local boards are wrestling with responsibilities their predecessors never had: halls, libraries, parks, events - and budgets. Hayley Hannan backgrounds their progress and learns about one board's big headache.
Wendy Youens heads up the escalator to the second floor of Auckland Central Library. From the stacks in the heritage section, she grabs the manuscript she wants and returns to check it out downstairs.
The central library looks like many of the other 55 council libraries in the region, but there's one difference: both Auckland Council and Waitemata Local Board pay for and run it.
For example, a staff member working on all five floors is paid by both parties, and the lift maintenance bill will be split between them. The local board pays for operating costs on the ground and first floors; the council pays the costs of the basement, second and third floors.
The cause of this anomaly is the short-lived Auckland Transition Agency. Setting up the new local bodies, it decided to classify the ground and first floors as local resources, and the other floors as regional resources.
The split may present some difficulties, says Mrs Youens, a Glenfield resident who works in the central city.
"It'll be interesting to see what happens with library developments, how that will work, and who will carry the cost of that.
"It'll also be interesting to see how they manage it, catering for both the local community who live in the central city, and for the region-wide population," she says.
Waitemata Local Board's chair, Shale Chambers, says he's unsure how the bills will be split but he's comfortable with the arrangement. "We're embracing the new model and we will run with it and see how it goes. Dividing up a building has its complexities."
This is the only library split this way, explains council libraries manager Allison Dobbie, but many council activities have regional and local components.
The split popped up in the board's 2011-2012 annual plan budget, which many of the 21 local boards are sorting through (see below).
Under the new council structure, local boards are responsible for community facilities, halls, libraries, recreation centres, parks and reserves, events, town centre improvements and arts facilities.
Budgets and responsibilities are new to the boards. Previously, community boards had no budgets as the former councils ran all these areas.
Across the boards
Each local board has been given an annual plan budget for the year from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. Most of the projects outlined are taken from former council plans.
Otara-Papatoetoe chair John McCracken says his board struggles to see where it stands. "We're trying to allocate various monies from former councils. [We're] being given dribs and drabs. We can't really do any decent planning or see what we really can achieve."
Nick Kearney, Kaipatiki deputy chair, feels his board is being left out of the loop: "We are supposed to have a co-governance model, but the way it's looking is that it's just going to be a lump it or leave it type thing."
Henderson-Massey chair Vanessa Neeson believes nobody knows what is going on. Albert-Eden chair Peter Haynes is doubtful of making progress: "We're not going to get figures that make a lot of sense."
Waitemata and Papakura have asked the council for more clarity on the budget. Papakura's chair, John Robinson, says the vague budget causes him to question Auckland Council's budget.
"The governing body [elected council] is looking for $66 million in savings and you don't even have the numbers. And they're saying, 'Trust us'?"
However, a few local boards sit at the less distressed end of the scale. Rodney chairman Bob Howard takes a more open-minded approach. "There's things that don't add up, but we have got to look at what council has to deal with across the board." His board is "putting its faith in the system".
Franklin chair Andy Baker says the lack of clarity is frustrating, but "we just have to work within the system". His board may make changes to the budget once annual plan hearings are over.
Richard Barter, Puketapapa chair, says the 2011-12 budget concerns mainly pre-decided projects. The focus of his board is on the 2012-13 budget, which will be more of a test.
Howick chair Michael Williams agrees: "It's easy to criticise the staff, but not everyone completely understands their role in the scheme of things."
A few boards have become bogged down in Annual Plan, Local Board Agreement and Auckland (Spatial) Plan work.
Mangere-Otahuhu and Upper Harbour have yet to "get into" the budget.
Hibiscus and Bays has started on its 2011-12 plans. As detailed in The Aucklander's April 7 edition, the board is working on plans for Stillwater community hall, an item in the budget.
Like splitting hairs
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