Governance statement

Councillors (acting as the Council) are responsible for governance, including:

• development and adoption of Council policy
• monitoring the performance of the Council
• prudent stewardship of Council resources
• employment of the Chief Executive
• appointment of the Electoral Officer
• representation of district residents and ratepayer interests.

Unless otherwise provided in the LGA or in the Council’s Standing Orders, the Council can only act by majority decision at meetings. Any individual member (including the Mayor) has no authority to act on behalf of the Council, unless this is specifically provided for by statute or the Council has expressly delegated such authority.

Councillors can also be allocated certain roles and responsibilities and appointed to committees and subcommittees.

The Mayor is elected by the district as a whole (at large) and, as one of the elected members, shares the same responsibilities as other members of the Council.

The Mayor has specific responsibility for:

• providing leadership to elected members and to the people of the Kāpiti Coast District
• leading the development of the Council's plans (including the Long-term Plan and
  the Annual Plan), policies and budgets for consideration by the members of the
  Council
• in exercising this leadership role, the Mayor has the power to:
  • appoint the Deputy Mayor
  • determine the number of committees and subcommittees, their terms of
    reference and composition
  • appoint the chairs of these committees and subcommittees.

The Mayor also has the following roles:

• presiding at Council meetings – the Mayor is responsible for ensuring the orderly
  conduct of business during meetings (as determined by Standing Orders)
• advocating on behalf of the community – this may involve promoting the community and representing its interests (such advocacy will be most effective where it is carried out with the knowledge and support of the Council).
• primary spokesperson for the Council
• ceremonial head of the Council
• fulfilling the responsibilities of a Justice of the Peace (ex-officio) 
• lead liaison with Central Government
• leading projects relating to transport and urban development
• leading other major projects.

The Deputy Mayor is appointed by the Mayor at the first meeting of the Council. Under usual circumstances, the Deputy Mayor exercises the same roles as other elected members. If the Mayor is absent or incapacitated, the Deputy Mayor must perform all of the responsibilities and duties and may exercise the powers of the Mayor (as summarised above). The Deputy Mayor may be removed from office by resolution of the Council.

Council or the Mayor may create one or more committees and subcommittees of the Council. The Mayor may appoint committee/subcommittee chairpersons or they may be appointed by the Council using the election processes prescribed in Clause 25 of Schedule 7 of the LGA. A committee/subcommittee chairperson is responsible for presiding over meetings, ensuring that the committee/subcommittee acts within the powers delegated to it by the Council as set out in the Council’s Governance Structure. A committee/subcommittee chairperson may be removed from office by resolution of the Council.

Community boards are the grass roots of local democracy where people in each of our towns and villages can take their concerns or seek assistance. Community Boards consist of four members elected alongside the Council at the local elections.

A board’s role is to advocate for its residents, but it also has powers to make decisions about issues within its boundaries and as per the powers delegated to it by the Council. Boards may also make submissions to the Council and other statutory agencies.  

Community boards are constituted under section 49 of the LGA to:

• represent and act as an advocate for the interests of their community
• consider and report on any matter referred to it by the Council and any issues of interest or concern to the community board
• maintain an overview of services provided by the Council within the community
• make an annual submission to the Council on expenditure in the community
• communicate with community organisations and special interest groups
• undertake any responsibilities delegated by the Council.

Meetings of the full Council hold the highest authority in the Council decision-making structure. The full Council meets monthly and is chaired by the Mayor. It would be inefficient for all decision-making to happen at full Council, so it delegates many of its powers to various committees and subcommittees. 

Some powers of the Council cannot be delegated. These include the powers to make a rate, to make a bylaw and to adopt an Annual Plan, Long-term Plan, or Annual Report. In addition, the Council has decided to retain some powers that could have been delegated.

After each triennial election the Mayor establishes the committees of the Council under Section 41A of the LGA, and appoints chairs to them. The Mayor is a member of all committees, except for the Kāpiti Coast District Licensing Committee.

The structure adopted for the 2022 – 25 triennium includes full Council, one committee of the whole Council which meets monthly, two major subcommittees and five committees with each committee/subcommittee having its own terms of reference and certain powers delegated to it by the Council. Council retains the power to revisit the structure at any point throughout the triennium.

In addition to the committees and subcommittees listed above, a District Licensing Committee is appointed by the Council to administer the Council’s alcohol licensing framework as required by the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

Community boards work with ward councillors to represent the interests of the people in each of our towns and villages. We have five community boards:

• Ōtaki community board
• Paekākāriki community board
• Paraparaumu community board
• Raumati community board
• Waikanae community board

The Chief Executive has some specific responsibilities under the LGA. They are responsible to the local authority for:

• implementing the decisions of the local authority
• providing advice to members of the local authority and to its community boards
• ensuring that all responsibilities, duties and powers delegated to him or her or to any person employed by the local authority, or imposed or conferred by an Act, regulation or bylaw, are properly performed or exercised
• ensuring the effective and efficient management of the activities of the local authority
• facilitating and fostering representative and substantial elector participation in elections and polls
• maintaining systems to enable effective planning and accurate reporting of the financial and service performance of the local authority
• providing leadership for the staff of the local authority
• employing, on behalf of the local authority, the staff of the local authority
• negotiating the terms of employment of the staff of the local authority.