Council-controlled organisations
A council-controlled organisation (CCOs) is an organisation in which the council controls 50 per cent or more of the votes or has the right to appoint 50 per cent (or more) of directors or trustees.
A substantive CCO is a CCO that is either responsible for the delivery of a significant service or activity on behalf of Auckland Council, or owns or manages assets with a value of more than $10 million.
Auckland Council has six substantive CCOs:
Auckland Council also owns Watercare Services Limited (Watercare), a council organisation that will become a substantive CCO from 1 July 2012.
The council also has a number of legacy CCOs.
Governance of Council Controlled Organisations
Council Controlled organisations are governed by their boards of directors or trustees, and operate at arm’s length to the council.
CCOs are, however, accountable to the council, which determines the objectives for each CCO and monitors their performance. The council, in turn, is accountable to its ratepayers and residents for the performance of the CCOs.
Auckland Council’s Accountability and Performance Committee is responsible for monitoring the performance of CCOs, and approving policies relevant to CCO accountability.
The CCO Strategy Review Subcommittee is responsible for appointing directors and negotiating CCOs’ statements of intent (SOIs).
The public will be able to provide input to the statements of intent (SOIs) at meetings which the CCOs must hold in public.
One meeting must be held before 30 June each year, where the board will consider the shareholder comment of its draft SOI for the following year.
The second meeting must be held after 1 July each year, where the board will consider the CCOs performance under its SOI in the previous financial year.
For additional information regarding board meeting guidelines see Board and public meeting guidelines for CCOs.
The guidelines will assist the CCOs in conducting meetings in public and enhance the public confidence in these organisations. The guidelines will be reviewed periodically, with input from the CCOs.
The Controller and Auditor-General has published a report commenting on the Governance of Watercare Services Limited and its relationship to Auckland Council, together with a report on the future water supply for the Auckland region.