Coronavirus: Move to relax rules for local council meetings

Local Government New Zealand president Dave Cull said he was confident the sector will continue to provide core services throughout the coming months Photo / Jason Oxenham

Local Government New Zealand is working to relax regulations around council meetings so decisions can still be made when councillors tune in via audio or video link.

Councils around the country are considering how the Covid-19 pandemic will affect the way they operate, their budgets and how elected members meet.

Today, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said the city's art galleries, pools, recreation centres and libraries would close for two weeks.

"I want people to know that this wasn't an easy decision. However, we get far too many people through the door at these facilities to be able to run them safely in light of the current situation."

Meanwhile, a group of Christchurch city councillors have called for any rates hikes to be put on hold for 12 months.

Harewood Councillor Aaron Keown said with the economy declining, a rates rise would be untenable.

"We should be seriously looking into our spending to make sure all of it does produce productivity."

Yesterday, Greater Wellington Regional Council made the call to remove cash sales from trains, buses and stations in the capital to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Wellington City Council postponed a committee meeting to discuss its draft annual plan this week to give decision-makers more time to consider the implication of the pandemic before signing off on anything.

Local Government New Zealand president Dave Cull said he was confident councils would be able to meet the statutory expectations of their core business amid Covid-19.

Council meetings must have a quorum of elected members to make decisions.

A quorum is the minimum number of members of an assembly that must be present to make a meeting valid.

It means half or more of council members need to be physically present at the meeting, and any of the remainder can participate by audio or visual link. In this case all members can vote, providing some flexibility.

But Cull said Local Government New Zealand was working with the Department of Internal Affairs to relax regulations governing meetings, so that a quorum could be extended to not just those physically present, but those on audio or visual link as well.

"Local Government has a long history of providing core services through difficult periods, and we are confident that the sector will continue to do so throughout the coming months," he said.

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Councils are also able to delegate decision-making to officials, typically chief executives, if meetings are unable to be held.

Cull said these delegated decisions would usually be of an operational nature, rather than strategic.

"This happens from time to time, typically over the Christmas period when councillors may be away, or as seen more recently, immediately after an election when the new council is still to be sworn in."

Councils are required to admit the public into open meetings, but they were closely monitoring official advice on coronavirus, Cull said.

Territorial authorities would take their lead from the Prime Minister regarding any restrictions on meetings or events, he said.

So far Jacinda Ardern has banned outdoor events of more than 500 people and indoor events of more than 100 people.

Cull said councils were also following guidance around social distancing, and many were choosing to cancel events lower than the cap.