Betteroutcomeswithgreatertransparency

Councilisnosmalloperationandwithahugeaverageannualspendof$6bninthe10yearplan
ithastheabilitytofundamentallychangethewaywelive.Butthereisseriousconcernaround
thestrengthofadvicebehinditslargescalemultimilliondollarinvestments.Togetusonthe
waytoaworldclassAuckland,Iproposethreecrucialinitiativessupportingincreasedtrustand
engagementalongwithbetterdecisionmaking.

AnIndependentBudgetOffice

TheIndependentBudgetOfficewillprovidecostbenefitanalysisthatisrelevantanddigestible
fortheGoverningBody,localboardsandthepublic.NewYorksIBOisawellknownexample
actingasastrongcheckandbalanceondecisionsforthecity.

AnAucklandIBOwould:
reviewthebudgetingprocessandmajorinvestmentdecisionsacrossCouncilandthe
CouncilControlledOrganisations(CCOs)
providerobustnonpartisanadviceonstrategic,longterm,andhighspendinvestments
and
carryoutreviewstomakesuretheseapprovedinvestmentdecisionsaredeliveringthe
outcomespromised.

TheIBOwillbeappointedbytheGoverningBodyonrecommendationfromacommitteesuch
astheAuditandRiskCommittee.FundingwillcomefromtheRegionalGovernanceBudgetand
IestimatecostsforrunningtheIBOwillbeunder$1millionayear.That,intheschemeofthe
$6bnayearbudgetresponsibilities,isasoundinvestment.Forexample,withanIBOwecould
haveavoidedthe$27mcostwerenowfacingtofixcouncilsAlbertStreetbuildingnotlongafter
purchase.

Openingcouncilsbooks

TrustinAucklandCouncilisatanextremelylowlevelof12percentandthatsaffecting
engagementlevels.Internationally,citiesandgovernmentshavemovedtoprovidemore
transparencytotheircommunitiesthroughbetterreporting.BostonandChicagoareexamples
leadingthewayintermsofbettertransparency.

InAucklandIllinitiateastrongdataprogrammethateffectivelyopenscouncilsbooksataline
bylinelevel.Thispolicywouldmean:
rawdatacoveringanyareaofAucklandCouncilandCCOexpenditure(excluding
commerciallysensitive)willbeproactivelyaccessibletoanyoneororganisation
datawillbeavailablefromacosteffectivepublicwebsiteinterface(commonlycalledan
API)
providerswiththecapabilitytoanalysethistransactionalinformationarealsofreeto
accessthedataandwillbeabletopresentitininterestingwaysand
indepthreportingaroundemployeenumbersandcontractorswillbeincluded.

Mayorsreportcards

Aucklandhassomeburningcomplexissueswhichweneedtobetterunderstandandprovide
integratedsolutionsfor.Mayorsreportcardscanenablemoretransparencyaroundour
progressinpriorityissueareas.Thereportcardswill:
bebasedonissuesidentifiedaspriorityareasforAuckland.TransportandHousingare
certainlytwokeypriorityareas
Includemetricscoveringarangeoffactorscontributingtotheissuewhethercouncil
controlledorexternaltrendsand
bepresentedinameaningfulway.

AnexampleofaMayorsreportcardonhousingmightincludepopulationgrowthstatistics
actuallandmadeavailablebyGovernmentandCouncilvstargetssetaveragefullconsent
timebreakdownofsocialandaffordablehomestypesofhomesbeingbuilt(suchashousesor
apartments)homeswithbuildcompleteandtheaveragesalepriceforAuckland.

TheMinistryofEducationproducedeffectiveeducationprofilesfordifferentregionsand
subregionsincludingnumbersonECEparticipation,totalschoolenrolments,NCEAlevel1and
2achievementlevels,averageclasssize,numberintradesandtrainingandmaleandfemale
achievement.