What is a Local Board and why is it important to me?

We often get a blank look when we talk about 'the Rodney Local Board' or worse, we're expected to have magical powers on par with some of the finest magicians from Game of Thrones... alas it's a bit more down to earth than that!

Before 2010 with Rodney District Council there were only Councillors. 

Some areas of Auckland had an extra layer of local democracy called Community Boards, however because that never happened in our district the concept of a local level of democracy is still one people are coming to grips with.

How Auckland is governed is a pretty boring topic, but it is actually important because in order to be effective representatives your Local Board needs to 'get with the program' and work within the system that the Government created to take Auckland into the 22nd Century.


Starting at the top...

The Mayor is elected by all Auckland voters and leads our governing body.

The Governing Body focuses on the big picture and on region-wide strategic decisions.

The governing body consists of the mayor and 20 governing body members - ward councillors elected by voters from the 13 Auckland wards they represent.

Local Boards represent the communities in their area and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities.

Each of the 21 local boards has between five and nine members, elected by voters from the area they represent.

The Auckland Council organisation is led by the chief executive, who works closely with the mayor. The chief executive appoints an executive leadership team who direct organisational staff.

The organisation as a whole is responsible for our operation and service delivery, advising the governing body and local boards and carrying out their decisions.
Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs)

CCOs look after specific council assets, services or infrastructure.

The CCOs operate separately but are accountable to the governing body, which sets their direction and monitors their performance. The role of CCO's is poorly understood however they play an important, but politically independent role, in delivering important infrastructure to Auckland. 

There is a misconception that the Mayor, Councillors and Local Board members can tell CCO's what to do. While the Mayor and Governing Body set the strategic direction, operational decisions are made by the CCO's. This is an important and arguably positive change for Auckland. It stops political interference in difficult decisions about investment and operations that have to be made on need, rather than the noisest people in the room. It also allows for a wider strategic view of priorisation that is fact based.

Well known CCO's include Auckland Transport, Watercare, Panuku & ATEED.


The Rodney Local Board.

What we do...
  • Develop Playgrounds, Parks and Recreational Facilities.
  • Work with the community on projects they identify as important.
  • Identify and develop bylaws for their local board area and propose them to the governing body.
  • Identify and communicate the views of local people on regional strategies, policies, plans and bylaws to the governing body, and provide input to the governing body on any regional decision that impacts on the local board area.

What we don't do...
  • Fix State Highways (the Government does that), make investment decisions about new roads and major transport infrastructure.
  • Decide how much money is allocated to the Rodney Ward.
  • Set Annual Rates.

You can find out about our three year Local Board Plan here, and more about the role we play in your community here.