Some of those powers are still to be decided on by the new Council. In broad terms the board will be responsible for the same things the out going councillors have been doing.If a decision the board was going to make effects other areas then the new council will take that issue over and make the decision on it.The board will decide which roads get repaired etc and prepair a budget to be approved by Auckland City Councillors.This is a brief answer but I hope it helps. 

Hi Natalie

This is pretty much a clean sheet under the act.   The Local Board\'s first responsibility will be to submit a plan including proposed budget for the local delivery of services, projects and asset management.   This will need to be signed off by the new Super Council then the Board will be charged with the implementation of the plan and management of service levels etc.     There are clearly some services which are better managed locally (such as local parks) and others which are better managed on a region wide basis (such as region wide public transport).. the first term will be about defining what belongs where so it is going to be interesting!

Any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Best wishes

Andrew

Dear Natalie

A set of delegations for Local Boards was written some months ago, but the expectation is that this be a \'moving feast\'. 

At www.auckland.govt.nz you\'ll see \'key topics\' featured on the right side.  Click on \'Local Boards\' for a summary

of the main responsiblities. 

From what I can presume at this stage the effectiveness (i.e. power) of a Local Board will depend very much

on the quality of the funding agreement that is made by about May next year with the new council. 

Power is clearly limited as the Board has no funds as of right - no means to set rates or raise funds directly. 

They must advocate for the local community needs by negotiating with the new council and the council controlled organisations - such as the Transport CCO.

While it may not seem like a powerful role because the Board does not hold the purse strings, if I am elected I will be clinging to

my optimistic belief that Auckland is made up of communities.  I expect a lot of our rates will be spend on building the CBD and the waterfront to

promote tourism, but at the end of the day this is still local government where the primary role is to provide facilities for the 21 Local Board

areas of the region.  If the council stuffs that up, they will be governing a very backward region with dire consequences. 

So they will be foolish not to adequately fund the Local Boards. 

PS Note I say \'region\' for Auckland.  It is not legally a city.  It will never be a city and any sort of local identity and pride such as we

currently have in our cities will have to develop through the Local Board areas or perhaps the Wards, e.g. our local board is part one of two

boards of the Waitakere Ward.  I have talked with other candidates and if elected the two boards will work together. 

Thank you for your question.

Judy 

Hi Natalie, thanks for your question.

It\'s something that I was interested to investigate myself, before deciding to stand for the position ... naturally enough!

The official answer can be found at this link:

http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/About/AucklandCouncilexplained/Pages/Roleoflocalboards.aspx

The unofficial answer (ie my 2 cents worth) would include the observation that each local board will really be what the elected members make of it. While that\'s a pretty self-evident statement, the fact that it\'s a totally new structure will allow strong representatives to have a good influence. I think the most exciting and important opportunities will be in the following areas:

 - formulating a local board plan that reflects the genuine day-to-day concerns of the people in the Waitakere Ranges area;

 - representing the Waitakere Ranges area, both within the boundaries (at civic events and the like) and within the wider Auckland Council area; and

 - responding to any concerns raised by the community.

I hope that helps - if there\'s anything more that I can (try to!) help with in this regard or any other please don\'t hesitate to get in touch.

Regards, C.

penky4localboard@gmail.com

Good question Natalie

Can I honestly say that no one will know until after the election.  It depends on the Mayor and the makeup of the Council.  They will have to make a fairly quick decision on what powers should be delegated to the local boards.  At worst the Local Boards will deal with dogs, prostitution and some liquor issues.  I hope they have a lot more to do than this!

I think the most important job for the local boards will be advocacy, getting on top of what the CCOs are doing, analysing what the local implications of Council\'s decisions are, and making sure that local voices are heard.

Future West\'s campaign slogan is \"your street not Queen Street\".  We want to make sure as much as possible that decisions with local implications have local opinions taken into account.

Awaiting response

The local boards are the at the root and foundation of local representation to the communities they serve. They exist to ensure democraric participation of local constituents, being advocates on their behalf by identifying and communicating the views of local people on regional strategies, by-laws and plans to the governing body. The should also clearly and without prejudice communicating back to communities they serve developments within the new city structure and council. If elected I will establish a very comprehensive web based conduit for two-way constituent communication as well as regular  office days for meeting personally with the people I represent.

While remaining committed to the issues I stood for, I will ensure  effective,  respectful and mature relationships with other members of the local board.  

As your Local Board representative I will also:

• Provide important local input into region-wide strategies and plans including those of the council-controlled organisations (CCOs).
• Work closely with Waitakere Councillors and ensure they remain accountable to the citizens of West Auckland while contributing positively to the new city.
• Monitor and report on the implementation of local board agreements
• Identify and develop policy and by-laws for the local board area and propose and advocate on behalf of citizens to the governing body

Steve Tollestrup, Waitakere Ranges Local Board, Candidate for Future West