Making democratic accountability for transport work won’t be easy

Suggestions from staff on potential options to balance delegations and workload

As part of the pending transport reform for Auckland, local boards are taking on more responsibility for transport decisions in our respective areas.

The Bill that created this reform said that it was intended to address the "lack of democratic accountability for transport decision" while "a greater role in transport decision making by local boards will support the policy objective of strengthening local democratic accountability and ensure appropriate local expertise and community engagement."

These changes come into effect on 1 October 2026, although none of us were elected with these extra responsibilities (the Act became law on 6 May 2026). As we take on more responsibilities, the workload will undoubtedly increase but unfortunately, because these decisions were made at a regional level and vary month-to-month, staff cannot confirm the expected workload.

It's worth noting that local Board members are part-time (~12-24 hours a week) while the Chairperson is full-time (40+ hours a week).

To make this work, we will probably need to delegate some decision-making to staff for the more operational matters. Getting this right is vital to delivering on the local democratic accountability balanced with the practicalities of the potential workload.

Next week, the Howick Local Board is being asked to confirm what level of staff delegation we want. Staff have provided three options including a recommendation, although we can adjust these how we wish.

I'm interested in what level of control vs delegation local residents would expect - happy to receive feedback or suggestions.

More information on these options can be found in our workshop from 6 August: https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12289/99448?type=2&docId=49981