Whangarei Art Museum Trust has reporting exemption revoked

The Whangarei Art Museum Trust which will lease the old NRC building for the Hundertwasser project will now be subject to stricter reporting requirements. Photo / John Stone

Whangarei Art Museum Trust will be subject to more stringent reporting on its governance and performance as a result of progress on the Hundertwasser project.

Under local government legislation, Whangarei District Council can decide if a council controlled organisation (CCO) is able to be exempt from the reporting requirements.

In particular, the exemption addresses concerns over compliance costs for small, non-profit entities. The exemption can be revoked at any time, and must be reviewed every three years.

Whangarei Art Museum Trust (WAMT) has been exempt since 2009, and was up for review in May this year. The council had allowed the exemption to continue to be granted as the cost of fulfilling the reporting requirements was not warranted.

Given the recent milestones met for the Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Maori Art Gallery, and the direct involvement of the WAMT in the project, its exemption status was up for reconsideration.

The council opted to revoke the exemption, which took effect at the start of this year.

It also adopted a list of criteria with expectations falling under three main headings: governance, operation of Whangarei Art Museum and Hundertwasser Wairau Maori Arts Centre.

Those criteria would be used when the trust creates it's draft statement of intent for the 2018/2019 financial year, due by March this year. The reporting requires the trust to produce a draft and final statement of intent, a half yearly report and an annual report.

Currently, it reports via the council's Community Development Committee.