Local government

New Zealand has 85 local authorities consisting of 12 regional councils and 73 territorial authorities (district councils and city councils).

Local Government New Zealand is a national organisation representing the interests of all 85 councils. It champions best practice in the local government sector and provides policy advice and training to local authorities.

The Local Government Act 2002 promotes greater co-operation between local authorities, and between local authorities, communities and other agencies, including central government.

The Local Government Act expands the mandate of local government to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural wellbeing of communities and to enable greater community influence on decision-making. It provides a key mechanism for doing this and a means of documenting what local authorities will do. These are:

• community outcomes processes
• long-term council community plans.

Community outcomes processes

Community outcomes processes are used by local authorities to identify and document community outcomes and how they plan to address these outcomes.

Community outcomes are a reflection of what is important to a local community within a city, district or region.

The Local Government Act requires local authorities to identify community outcomes for the intermediate and long-term future of their district or region at least once every six years.

The purpose of this requirement is to:

• stimulate debate about local needs and priorities for the present and future social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the community
• inform and guide the setting of priorities by local authorities and, where possible, other agencies, and community and voluntary organisations
• enable local authorities and other agencies to work more closely together
• encourage public participation in local affairs by generating interest in a shared purpose.

Long-term Council Community Plans

Long-term Council Community Plans (LTCCPs) are the means of documenting what local authorities plan to do to achieve identified community outcomes. They inform all other planning undertaken by a local authority, such as Asset Management Plans, District Plans and Waste Management Plans.

LTCCPs must set out, among other things, the community outcomes for a district or region, and how the local authority's activities contribute to these outcomes.

The Local Government Act does not explicitly place an obligation on central government to participate in the community outcomes process. It does, however, oblige local authorities undertaking community outcomes processes to seek the support of organisations and groups capable of influencing the identification and/or promotion of community outcomes. This includes central government agencies.

Central government has an influence on desired community outcomes because it:

• provides many of the resources and services that affect a community's quality of life
• sets regulatory frameworks within which other parties operate.

It is useful for central government agencies to consider the development of management strategies and processes that:

• encourage strong, co-operative relationships with local government
• make it easy for central government agencies to participate in the community outcomes and long-term council community planning processes.

Useful information on implications for central government agencies can be found in the Ministry of Social Development's publication, a Good Practice Guide for Working with Local Government: Ministry of Social Development's contributions to community outcomes processes.

The guide provides:

• information about local government and community outcomes processes
• practical suggestions on how to contribute
• principles and tips for collaborative work
• useful websites, resources and contacts.

The Department of Internal Affairs has a team dedicated to supporting central and local government working together for community outcomes.

The team works to develop and improve relationships between local authorities and central government agencies, and encourages central government engagement in community outcomes processes.

The team manages the Community Outcomes website, which has information about community outcomes in New Zealand, including good practice examples and resources. The website includes a directory of central government, local authority, and local organisation services, including local contact details where available.

Here are five suggestions that may help you and your agency build active relationships with local authorities.

• Increase your level of contact with local authorities. Identify specific people in your agency for local authorities to work with, and publicise their names. It can be helpful if these people know the area well.
• If involved in a planning process or joint project with a local authority, consider developing a memorandum of understanding between your agency and the authority. This should specify:
  • who within your agency will lead, or be involved in, the planning process or project, and the limits of that person's authority
  • protocols for exchange of information, with a ‘no-surprises’ policy
  • what will be monitored, what indicators will be used, and who will be responsible for collecting information.
• Establish regional networks of related government agencies. Nominate a lead agency as first point of contact for local authorities on specific issues. In some areas, networks may already exist, so simply ensure that your agency regularly participates in meetings.
• Measure your success against jointly agreed indicators of progress.
• Develop a human resources strategy that increases your agency's capacity to collaborate with local government.

Keep in mind the following things when planning a collaborative process with local government:

Local and national strategies

Local government develops local strategies that meet local needs. Central government agencies have a strong focus on national strategies. Look for the common ground between local and national interests.

Indicators

Because central government, local government and communities may have different expectations of the collaboration, their measures of success may vary. It's best if all parties can agree on indicators at the beginning of any collaborative exercise.

Planning timeframes

Central government agencies' timeframes and objectives can be affected by changes of government, Ministers or budgets. Local authorities too will be at different stages in their process of identifying and prioritising community goals. When working with local authorities, try to identify any limitations that this may have on your ability to make commitments.

Delegated authority

Government agencies can vary in the amount of autonomy given to their local or regional offices. Collaboration with a local authority can be easier if it involves someone from your agency who is able to make commitments on the agency's behalf. If this isn't possible it may be helpful, at least initially, if the local authority and your agency's senior managers meet to discuss their interface.

Regional boundaries

Central government agencies' administrative boundaries may differ from local authority boundaries. For instance, a local authority in Taranaki may deal with central government agencies' offices in New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington.

Be conscious that this can add to local authority staff workloads. It can also create special challenges for information gathering and sharing between central and local government.

Duplicate consultation processes

Sometimes communities have been consulted twice on similar topics at virtually the same time. Try to co-ordinate your consultation exercises with those of local authorities and other government agencies.

That's just one more reason for fostering active relationships: you need to know what's going on.