Supplementary Agenda of Council

Council 18 August 2021

Item 12.3

12.3. Register of Delegations Part 1

To review and adopt Council’s Register of Delegations - Part 1.

Director Business & Governance

Officer’s Recommendation

1. That Council notes and resolves to delegate to the Mayor, General Manager (Chief Executive Officer) and Committees of Council the functions described in Attachment 1, and including delegation to the CEO of:

a. all of the functions of Council as provided in the Local Government Act 1993, except those excluded by Section 377 of the Local Government Act 1993 and those delegated to the Mayor and Committees of Council; and

b. as set out at items 1 to 16 under the heading of “Delegations to the Chief Executive Officer (General Manager)”.

2. That the adopted Register of Delegations - Part 1 (Attachment 1) be published on Council’s website.

Executive Summary

The review and maintenance of Council’s Register of Delegations is an important administrative instrument of Council. The Delegations are in contained in two parts, Part 1 contains the delegations to the Mayor, General Manager (hereafter referred to as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)) and Committees. Part 2 is the sub-delegations from the General Manager to responsible officers. Review of this instrument is incorporated in Council’s Document Control Register and is guided by the requirements of the Local Government Act 1993.

The purpose of this report is to reflect required changes to delegations to the CEO in Part 1 of the document (Attachment 1). It was last adopted by Council on 8 April 2020 to reflect amendments relating to operational requirements during the pandemic.

A further review of Part 1 - Register of Delegations has been undertaken and is presented at this meeting for resolution by Council to confirm Council’s delegations to the CEO.

Background

To meet the requirements of Section 377 of the Local Government Act (1993) (the Act), Council’s Register of Delegations - Part 1 includes delegations to the following individuals/parties:

i. The Mayor

ii. Standing Committees

iii. Section 355 Committees

iv. The Chief Executive Officer

Part 1 sets out the general powers of the Council to delegate in accordance with the Act. A review has been completed and the amended Register of Delegations - Part 1, relating to delegations to CEO, is attached to this report seeking adoption. Once considered and adopted by Council, the Register of Delegations - Part 1 will be made available on Council’s website.

The current review of Part 1 of the Delegations aligns with information provided through Council’s recent legal delegations subscription. This subscription commenced in July 2021 and provides Council with a bi-annual update of delegations and legislative amendments.

Part 2 sets out the delegations to staff from the CEO is reviewed on a regular basis to align it with the organisation structure as well as reflect any changes in legislative requirements and Council policies. Part 2 is approved by the CEO.

Options

Council may resolve to update the Register of Delegations – Part 1, not update this Register or delegate different functions to the CEO. Adopting Attachment 1 is the recommended action.

Register of Delegations - Part 1 is generally adopted by the newly elected Council and was due for report to Council in September 2020. Due to the Local Government Elections being deferred to September 2021 and further deferred until December 2021, and the recent information provided through Council’s legal delegation subscription, it is appropriate that Council confirm adoption of the Delegations Part 1 now.

The amended Delegations Part 1 will also confirm the change of title from General Manager to CEO. It is noted that any reference to the CEO in Council’s Delegation’s Policies, Procedure or other official documents is a reference to the role and responsibilities of the General Manager as outlined in the Local Government Act 1993.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

Engagement undertaken

Adoption of Council’s Delegation to the Mayor, CEO and committees of Council is required under Section 377 of the Local Government Act 1993. Council’s Delegations Part 1 and Part 2 do not require community consultation.

Copies of Council’s Delegations Part 1 and the CEO’s Delegations Part 2 – Delegations to Staff are available on Council’s website.

Engagement planned

Council is currently undertaking a review of the Delegations Part 2 and relevant staff will be consulted as part of the review.

Financial and Resource Considerations

Management of Council’s Delegations is included in Council’s adopted budget and forms part of the core services of Council’s Governance team, senior staff and managers.

Legal /Policy

The Director Business and Governance is responsible for the internal review of the Register of Delegations and updating with any necessary changes (relating to staff positional changes, legislative or other types of changes), or following a general election of Council. The review is coordinated in consultation with the Governance Coordinator, who oversees the maintenance of all associated corporate documents.

To facilitate the maintenance and review of the Register of Delegations, the document is included in Council’s Document Control Register. The register records details such as creation date, version number, review date and responsible personnel.

Council has recently implemented an automated system (Pulse Delegations) to assist with delegation management, as well as a subscription to a legal service to provide necessary updates on delegations.

Impacts on Strategic/Operational/Asset Management Plan/Risk

Strategic Alignment

Review of Council’s Delegations aligns with the following Operational Plan and Delivery Plan Goals:

Outcome 6: Strong ad Consultative Leadership

Delivery Program: 6.11.8 - Develop and implement good governance systems:

Operational Plan: 6.11.8.2 - Transition to cloud-based platform to manage delegations, policies and procedures.

Environment and Climate Change

There are no direct environment and climate change impacts relating to this report.

Economic

There are no direct economic impacts as a result of the recommendations of this report.

Risk

Council’s Delegations Part 1 and Part 2 (Delegations to Staff) should align with current legislation to ensure any decisions made by Council and staff are legal and facilitate staff being able to effectively undertake the requirements of their position descriptions. The updated delegations will enable the CEO to properly sub-delegate to staff.

Council is currently reviewing its delegations to align with the database supplied by Kell Moore Lawyers to ensure compliance and to transition to our cloud-based platform to manage its delegations electronically. Updating the delegations to the CEO as proposed will ensure that the CEO can effectively undertake business delegated to them by the Council.

Social / Cultural

There are no direct social or cultural impacts related to the recommendations of the report.