Auckland's Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) account for 2/3 of the services provided to the public, control 2/3 of councils assets and make up half the operational budget.
Considering the massive impact they have on our daily lives, you'd imagine that they would be a top priority for Council. But in reality "council’s many plans, policies and strategies offer almost no practical strategic direction to CCOs."
In fact "in some crucial areas – such as water, property and arts and culture – there is no strategy at all." Perhaps caused by "a lack of commitment by some councillors" and the "insufficient face-to-face discussion and meaningful dialogue between CCOs and the governing body".
Those aren't my words (although I agree with them wholeheartedly) - these quotes come from the CCO Review that recently found that the "council’s governance of, and liaison with, CCOs is not working as it should". This is no surprise to Aucklanders who have to live with the erratic performance of these organisations, battling between silos and getting very little in response. And it's not just us, with CCOs "not sufficiently responsive to local boards’ concerns".
Yesterday Auckland Council formally adopted all of the 64 recommendations from the review. Of those, 25 are to be progressed over the next 6 months while the others will be worked through with the CCOs and local boards. This is undeniably great news and is a significant step forward.
How much actually changes, only time will tell. But when you look through the recommendations, it's disappointing to see that there are clearly significant gaps in basic governance and accountability.
This isn't a dig at the recommendations - they're solid. But it shouldn't take public outcry and a costly external review to agree that "quarterly meetings of council and CCO executive leadership teams have a formal agenda". That's basic business practice not followed and it gets worse as the review goes on.
Auckland Transport and Watercare are constantly criticised for their maintenance and lack of planning, yet only now will they "submit their asset management plans and detailed supporting information to the council every year so it can assess how well the plans give effect to its urban growth strategy." It's no wonder that our infrastructure isn't coping with our rapid growth, despite all the election promises we heard.
At the risk of sound like a stuck record, Auckland Council lacks proper governance and oversight. Many of the councillors elected have little to no business experience, yet they're responsible for one of the largest budgets in the country (second only to central government). Perhaps this review will be a wake-up call for those charged with governing our city? Past performance says that's unlikely, but I'm always hopeful for our city.
Read the full review here: https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/about-auckland-council/how-auckland-council-works/council-controlled-organisations/Documents/CCO-review.pdf
Read the Governing Body decision here: https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/news/2020/08/council-agrees-cco-review-recommendations/