Agenda of Regulatory Compliance Committee Meeting

Regulatory Compliance Committee Meeting Agenda

11 February 2020

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE - MEMBERS REGISTER OF INTERESTS

Name	Responsibility (i.e. Chairperson etc)	Declaration of Interests	Nature of Potential Interest	Member's Proposed Management Plan
Hon John Carter QSO	Board Member of the Local Government Protection Programme	Board Member of the Local Government Protection Program
Hon John Carter QSO	Carter Family Trust
Kelly Stratford (Chair)	KS Bookkeeping and Administration	Business Owner, provides book keeping, administration and development of environmental management plans	None perceived	Step aside from decisions that arise, that may have conflicts
	Waikare Marae Trustees	Trustee	Maybe perceived conflicts	Case by case basis
	Bay of Islands College	Parent Elected Trustee	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Karetu School	Parent Elected Trustee	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Maori title land – Moerewa and Waikare	Beneficiary and husband is a shareholder	None perceived	If there was a conflict, I will step aside from decision making
	Sister is employed by Far North District Council			Wil not discuss work/governance mattes that are confidential
	Gifts - food and beverages	Residents and ratepayers may ‘shout’ food and beverage	Perceived bias or predetermination	Case by case basis
Kelly Stratford - Partner	Chef and Barista	Opua Store	None perceived
Kelly Stratford - Partner	Maori title land – Moerewa	Shareholder	None perceived	If there was a conflict of interest I would step aside from decision making
David Collard (Deputy Chair)	Snapper Bonanza 2011 Limited	45% Shareholder and Director
David Collard (Deputy Chair)	Trustee of Te Ahu Charitable Trust	Council delegate to this board
David Clendon	Chairperson – He Waka Eke Noa Charitable Trust	None		Declare if any issue arises
	Member of Vision Kerikeri	None		Declare if any issue arises
	Joint owner of family home in Kerikeri	Hall Road, Kerikeri
David Clendon – Partner	Resident Shareholder on Kerikeri Irrigation
Deputy Mayor Ann Court	Waipapa Business Association	Member		Case by case
	Warren Pattinson Limited	Shareholder	Building company. FNDC is a regulator and enforcer	Case by case
	Kerikeri Irrigation	Supplies my water		No
	Top Energy	Supplies my power		No other interest greater than the publics
	District Licensing	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Top Energy Consumer Trust	Trustee	Crossover in regulatory functions, consenting economic development and contracts such as street lighting.	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Ann Court Trust	Private	Private	N/A
	Waipapa Rotary	Honorary member	Potential community funding submitter	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Properties on Onekura Road, Waipapa	Owner Shareholder	Any proposed FNDC Capital works or policy change which may have a direct impact (positive/adverse)	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Property on Daroux Dr, Waipapa	Financial interest	Any proposed FNDC Capital works or policy change which may have a direct impact (positive/adverse)	Declare interest and abstain from voting.
	Flowers and gifts	Ratepayer 'Thankyou'	Bias/ Pre-determination?	Declare to Governance
	Coffee and food	Ratepayers sometimes 'shout' food and beverage	Bias or pre-determination	Case by case
	Staff	N/A	Suggestion of not being impartial or pre-determined!	Be professional, due diligence, weigh the evidence. Be thorough, thoughtful, considered impartial and balanced. Be fair.
	Warren Patteinson	My husband is a builder and may do work for Council staff		Case by case
Ann Court - Partner	Warren Pattinson Limited	Director	Building Company. FNDC is a regulator	Remain at arm’s length
	Air NZ	Shareholder	None	None
	Warren Pattinson Limited	Builder	FNDC is the consent authority, regulator and enforcer.	Apply arm’s length rules
	Kurbside Rod and Custom Club (unlikely)	President NZ Hot Rod Association	Potential to be linked to a funding applicant and my wife is on the decision-making committee.	unlikely to materialise but would absent myself from any process as would Ann.
	Property on Onekura Road, Waipapa	Owner	Any proposed FNDC capital work in the vicinity or rural plan change. Maybe a link to policy development.	Would not submit. Rest on a case by case basis.
Rachel Smith	Friends of Rolands Wood Charitable Trust	Trustee
	Mid North Family Support	Trustee
	Bay of Islands Amateur Swimming Club	Committee Member
	Property Owner	Kerikeri
	Friends who work at Far North District Council
	Kerikeri Cruising Club	Subscription Member
Rachel Smith (Partner)	Property Owner	Kerikeri
	Friends who work at Far North District Council
	Kerikeri Cruising Club	Subscription Member
John Vujcich	Board Member	Pioneer Village	Matters relating to funding and assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Waitukupata Forest Ltd	Potential for council activity to directly affect its assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Rural Service Solutions Ltd	Matters where council regulatory function impact of company services	Declare interest and abstain
	Director	Kaikohe (Rau Marama) Community Trust	Potential funder	Declare interest and abstain
	Partner	MJ & EMJ Vujcich	Matters where council regulatory function impacts on partnership owned assets	Declare interest and abstain
	Member	Kaikohe Rotary Club	Potential funder, or impact on Rotary projects	Declare interest and abstain
	Member	New Zealand Institute of Directors	Potential provider of training to Council	Declare a Conflict of Interest
	Member	Institute of IT Professionals	Unlikely, but possible provider of services to Council	Declare a Conflict of Interest
	Member	Kaikohe Business Association	Possible funding provider	Declare a Conflict of Interest

Regulatory Compliance Committee Meeting Agenda

11 February 2020

4 Information Reports

4.1 Building Consents Authority Regulatory Compliance Update

File Number: A2826401

Author: Trent Blakeman, Manager - Building Services

Authoriser: Dean Myburgh, General Manager - District Services

Purpose of the Report

To provide the Regulatory Compliance Committee with an update on the current state of the Building Consents Authority’s compliance with the statutory time frames relating to compliance with the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006, (the Regulations).

Executive Summary

In 2019 the Building Consents Authority (BCA) experienced its lowest compliance figures for the building consent statutory time frame, with November and April showing the lowest percent at 23% and 24% respectively, and with the highest for the year topping out at 65.61%.

A change in leadership of the Building Consents Authority (BCA) occurred in April/May of 2019 which, together with a higher level of support for the Building Consents Authority (BCA), resulted in a steady return to compliance with the statutory time frames.

With the current compliance performance, it is expected that the Building Consents Authority (BCA) will maintain full compliance in a customer-focused manner.

Recommendation

That the Regulatory Compliance Committee receives the report Building Consents Authority Regulatory Compliance Update.

Background

The Building Act 2004 (section 212) states:

212 Territorial Authority must act as Building Consent Authority for its district

(1) A territorial authority must perform the functions of a building consent authority within its district, and for any coastal marine area (within the meaning of the Resource Management Act 1991) adjacent to its district that is not within the district of another territorial authority, in relation to:

(a) any application for a building consent made to the territorial authority; and

(b) any building consent granted under that application.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in the case of dams.

(3) A territorial authority must, in performing its functions as a building consent authority, provide to Fire and Emergency New Zealand, a copy of every application for a building consent of a kind specified by notice under section 46.

(4) Subsection (1) -

(a) is subject to the territorial authority’s power to transfer, under section 233, any or all its functions, duties, or powers under this Act to another territorial authority; and

(b) does not apply to any function so transferred by the territorial authority.

As Far North District Council (FNDC) is a Territorial Authority (TA) we also have a Building Consent Authority (BCA). The Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) set the basis for the operation of the BCA. The BCA is audited on their compliance with theses regulations every two years (under the normal cycle),

International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) has been appointed by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) as the accreditation body that undertakes accreditation assessments against the requirements of the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006 (the Regulations). These requirements are further detailed in MBIE’s regulatory guidance for Building Consent Authorities (BCA), and Accredited Organisations (AO) accredited under the Regulations.

One of the metrics used to measure the performance of the BCA function is its ability to perform certain tasks within a statutory time frame (20 days). This is one of the few metrics that can be measured without the need for Audit. The timeframes relate to processing of Building Consents and issue of Code Compliance Certificates (CCC’s).

These are currently measured using the Business Intelligence system (BI). Extracts from the BI system will be used to report on the BCA’s current compliance with these time frames.

Discussion and Next Steps

For comparison, the following slide shows the compliance with the 20-day timeframe for issuing Building Consents for the 2019 financial year. Overall, the BCA performed poorly which resulted in the FNDC’s BCA being placed on a high-risk watch list with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE). This resulted in a focus on more frequent audits by IANZ. The BCA’s current status with accreditation will be reported to the Assurance, Risk and Finance Committee.

20-day Compliance (2019) Building Consents:

The following slide is the current year’s status to date, which has shown a steady improvement to full compliance with the regulations. At 100% for both December and January, we expect this trend to continue.

20-day Compliance (2020) Building Consents:

The 2020 year overall is currently 94.40% compliant with the Regulation and it is expected that the CEO’s KPI of 95% will be met before years end.

The current CCC compliance rate is 90.92% which is largely due to clearing a major back log of CCCs which has been now cleared; it is expected that by years end, this will improve as well.

The current CCC process still involves manual inputs, which takes time and allows for human error. The introduction of online services will mean the CCC process will become more streamlined, reducing time to process CCCs, resulting in a higher compliance rate.

The following graph shows a steady improvement in the compliance rate which is expected to continue.

The challenge, going forward, will be the rebuilding of in-house capacity and competence and transitioning away from contractors. This will add to the capacity of the BCA and ensure that non-compliances, staff movements and fluctuations in the market can be pro-actively managed.

Current Unissued Building Consents	Current Unissued Code Compliance Certificates
28 January 2020	28 January 2020

The above traffic lights indicate the status of building consents in relation to statutory day compliance (green 0-15 days, amber 15-20 days and red >20 days).

The focus has been on clearing the red light. At the time of this report only one of three CCCs shown were non-compliant. The aim is to clear consents all the way to the green light and manage the system in the amber light only; this will allow a 5-day buffer, with a lesser likelihood of non-compliance.

Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

Nil

Attachments

Nil

Regulatory Compliance Committee Meeting Agenda

11 February 2020

4.2 Resource Consents Process Renovation Project Update (Vision 20/20)

File Number: A2826865

Author: Katie Waiti-Dennis, Special Projects Environmental Services

Authoriser: Dean Myburgh, General Manager - District Services

Purpose of the Report

To provide an update on the Resource Consents Process Renovation Project (Vision 20/20).

Executive Summary

Council received notice from the Minister for the Environment advising that FNDC were the worst performing Council in the country for resource consent processing. This led to the launch of a Resource Consents Process Renovation Project: Vision 20/20. The project aims to improve efficiencies in the resource consents process and lift statutory compliance levels. There are 7 key project milestones to be delivered by April 2020.

Preliminary benchmarking against a high performing Council has been conducted and highlights the key to optimum performance is adequate staffing. 36 process improvements have been catalogued and will be considered and potentially adopted as part of Vision 20/20.

Performance levels have seen an increase by 21% and this rate continues to climb as the team start to realise some of the improvement initiatives delivered through Vision 20/20.

Recommendation

That the Regulatory Compliance Committee receive the report Resource Consents Process Renovation Project Update (Vision 20/20).

Background

The Far North has seen a surge in development across the district. This has driven up the number of resource consent applications, coupled with recruitment and process issues this has been challenging for the resource consents team.

In July 2019, the Minister for the Environment wrote to the Chief Executive Officer for FNDC about Council’s declining compliance rate. The Minister confirmed Council processed 33% of resource consents within statutory timeframes, the worst in the country. The Minister expressed concern over the low rate of compliance and encouraged Council to continue in its efforts to improve timeliness.

In October 2019, Vision 20/20: The Resource Consents Process Renovation Project was launched and will deliver on 7 key milestones around process and systems renovation by April 2020. Vision 20/20 is the resource consents process renovation project aimed at improving efficiencies and the effectiveness of the resource consents process from start to finish. At the same time, we want to improve the systems we use, all with an aim to lift our statutory compliance levels.

Vision 20/20 is part of the Customer and Digital Transformation Programme and will dovetail other customer and digital projects already in play. We have earmarked other initiatives around resourcing and recruitment to supplement this project.

Discussion and Next Steps

A team of delegates from FNDC visited Christchurch City Council (CCC) to preview their resource consenting process. CCC are a high performing Council issuing 2317 resource consents at a decision issue rate of 99% within statutory timeframes compared to FNDC’s 1280 consents at 57%.

Preliminary results show the key difference between FNDC and CCC is their staffing model. CCC are resourced for high performance with each planner processing 46 consents per year compared to the 128 consents per year processed by FNDC planners, nearly 3 times as many.

There were 36 lessons learnt from the CCC visit which have been catalogued based on ease of implementation and innovation. Most of these will be considered and potentially adopted as part of Vision 20/20.

Vision 20/20 is currently focused on increasing efficiencies in process. A review of the staffing model is currently out of scope for this project. Further analysis is underway to confirm the maximum amount of time saved based on process efficiencies. This will provide the basis for a recommendation regarding an adequate staffing model to achieve high performing status.

With an increased focus on resource consents, we are now tracking at an improvement rate of 21% and this continues to climb. By April 2020, we will finish up with a streamlined process that takes full advantage of the systems we currently use. Afterwards, we will then have room to look at resourcing and see how we can compliment the process improvements realised through Vision 20/20.

Financial Implications and Budgetary Provision

To date there have been no project costs. Negotiations are underway to acquire additional resource to provide technical expertise and support in delivering key milestones. Ideally, these resources will be sourced internally. Alternatively, an external service provider will be engaged, and costs attributed to operational expenditure.

Attachments

Nil

Regulatory Compliance Committee Meeting Agenda

11 February 2020

4.3 Strategic Customer Compliance Framework

File Number: A2828119

Author: Darren Edwards, Manager Environmental Services

Authoriser: Dean Myburgh, General Manager - District Services

Purpose of the Report

To provide the Regulatory Compliance Committee with an overview of the recently-approved Strategic Customer Compliance Framework.

Executive Summary

Council, through its District Services Group, provides advice and guidance whilst delivering compliance, monitoring and enforcement of environmental law across the district. To assist in the delivery of these services, the Strategic Customer Compliance Framework is seen as the cornerstone in the delivery of these key services (Attachment 1).

While the key driver for adoption of this framework is to advance compliance, monitoring and enforcement of environmental law, Council’s regulatory responsibilities extend much wider than this. This framework has been tailored to meet Council’s needs whilst, at the same time, understanding the Regional Compliance Monitoring, Incident Response and Enforcement Guidelines used by the Northland Regional Council. The framework will act as a guide for a wide range of compliance, monitoring and enforcement activities which reflects this wider purpose.

The purpose of this document is to provide that overarching framework.

Recommendation

That the Regulatory Compliance Committee receive the report Strategic Customer Compliance Framework.

Background

In 2017 Council participated in the Local Government New Zealand CouncilMark programme where we were assessed against 4 categories:

1. Governance, leadership and strategy

2. Financial decision-making and transparency

3. Service delivery and asset management

4. Communicating and engaging with the public and business

A key finding as an area for improvement within Service Delivery and Asset Management was:

“The Council would benefit from developing an enforcement strategy to more effectively prioritise its resources.”

As a result of this recommendation, the Strategic Customer Compliance Framework was developed.

This document provides a robust framework that can be shared and applied across the district, providing opportunities for Council to effectively focus resources on important compliance priorities. It also allows for consistent approaches, the lack of which have been highlighted as limiting the collective effectiveness of Local Government.

The Strategic Customer Compliance Framework (SCCF) will assist Far North District Council in developing a consistent approach to:

§ monitor compliance (what is the state of compliance)

§ encourage compliance (achieving the highest levels of compliance)

§ deal with non-compliance (using enforcement tools to bring about behaviour change)

§ review each of these components (to gauge the effectiveness of the SCCF)

Figure 1 shows the different elements of the SCCF and how they relate. There are three major components to the SCCF:

1. Monitoring – this includes developing strategic programmes

2. Encouraging Compliance – using a proactive model

3. Non-Compliance – using enforcement tools to deal with incidents of non-compliance

Monitoring and encouraging compliance employs a risk-based approach in its execution (it prioritises resources based on risk) and deals with non-compliance using a ‘toolbox’ of enforcement tools. A key component of the SCCF is the requirement to report and review.

Figure 1: Elements of a Strategic Customer Compliance Framework

Discussion and Next Steps

Council have varied levels of experience, resourcing challenges, limited systems and processes impacting on the ability to achieve compliance consistently. In many instances we are providing a reactive response to complaints.

Applying a structured approach to ensure that others are compliant, enables Council to focus compliance related programmes and interventions on the most ‘important problems’ – based on a range of risk factors.

In doing so, Council will focus on encouraging compliance, taking a comprehensive approach to deliver high levels of compliance through developing understanding and sustained behaviour change.

The 4Es Model outlines the four components of the approach: Engage, Educate, Enable and Enforce.

Figure 2: The 4Es

Regardless of who has responsibility for implementing each component of the model, it is vital that they are co-ordinated, and that a high level of communication is maintained to ensure that full effect is being achieved.