The role of council
In meeting the purpose of Local Government as defined in the Local Government Act 2002, the District Council has a variety of roles.
- These roles include:
- Facilitating solutions to local needs
- Advocacy on behalf the local community with central government, other local authorities and other agencies
- Development of local resources
- Management of local infrastructure including network infrastructure (e.g. roads, sewage disposal, water and stormwater, and community infrastructure (libraries, parks and recreational facilities and harbour development)
- Environmental management
- Planning for the future needs of the District.
To meet these obligations council has two main parts. The first part are the Mayor and Councillors (Elected Members) and the second is the organisation or operations.
Elected Members
Elected Members set the policies and direction of Council, make bylaws and have a regulatory role, determine the expenditure and funding requirements of Council, monitor the performance of the organisation, represent the interests of the District outside the area, and employ the Chief Executive who in turn, employs all other staff.
The Mayor is elected by the district as a whole and has additional responsibilities including presiding over Council meetings, promoting and representing the interests of the community, acting as the ceremonial head of Council and providing leadership and feedback to other elected members.
Organisation
The scope of activities that a Council is involved in is large and often issues are highly technical or complex so the Council appoints a chief executive who in turn appoints a range of skilled staff to carry out the activities the council undertakes on behalf of the community.
The organisation (also ‘the Council’) implements the decisions of Council, provides advice to Council on managing the activities of the organisation effectively and efficiently, plans and provides accurate reports of the financial and service performance of Council, and employs and provides leadership.