The present council has reduced the delegations to our Community Boards, and some elements within council have unsuccessfully lobbied to remove the Community Boards altogether and put more control with the council bureaucrats.
As Mayor I will work to reverse this to ensure that the "local" is returned to "local government". It is most important that decision making starts with the community
Delegations to Community Boards have been increased under my Mayoralty and their important role in Council has been given more recognition. For the first time, two of the six boards attend the monthly Council meeting and present a quarterly report. Each Board was allocated an additional $10,000 specifically to support local events in their communities.
As Mayor I enjoy a good relationship with Board Chairs and Board members and actively work with them to secure better outcomes for each community. This included working through the Boards for consultation on the Royal Commission enquiry on Auckland restructuring.