What is Local Government

What is Local Government?

Local government is the order of government that allows citizens to make decisions about their community, district, city or region. It is sometimes referred to as the “grass roots” of government. It is the sphere of government that is closest to the people in your community. It helps to shape the community’s future and is responsible for making sure that everyone in the community has access to important local services.

There are three types of local government:

Territorial councils
Regional councils, and
Unitary councils.

Territorial councils are our cities and districts. They provide the local services that we all use, such as libraries, infrastructure, planning and look after a range of regulations, such as alcohol and dogs.

Regional councils are primarily concerned with the quality of our environment and have significant public transport responsibilities.

Unitary councils combine the roles of both territorial and regional councils.

All you need to know Guide to Local Government document

Governance and Management of Council

These responsibilities and roles are set out in the Local Government Act 2002 through the definition of roles and governance principles.

Governance	Management	Operational
Strategic direction Long Term Plan Budgets / Financials Allocate Resources Performance Audit Reviews Policies	Employing and managing staff Day to day operations Manage finances Prepare reports	Staff (Officers) performing day to day duties

The relationship between governance and management will vary in each council because of factors like council size and the decision-making structure each councils adopts. In smaller councils the relationship between governance, management and operations tends to be more direct and less formal than in large councils.

One way of describing the relationship, although simplistic, uses the analogy of sailing a boat - "Governance is responsible for steering while management is responsible for rowing".

In practice the distinction is not as simple as described in the analogy, but it does describe the key differences between the two roles.

Why Stand for Council?

To contribute to the development and improvement of your community
To make a difference and be involved in shaping the future of the local community
To represent the views of local people and ensure that community interests are taken into account
To contribute your business or professional skills to help the community realise its potential.

When asked why they stood for election in 2016 the most common reasons elected members gave for standing were:

To serve their community
Feeling they had skills to offer, and
To represent their community/neighbourhood.

The Benefits of Standing for Council

Being elected by your fellow residents is an important position of trust.

Very few New Zealanders are given the opportunity to be an elected representative. Once elected you will have a unique opportunity to shape your community and how it will develop in the future.

You will get to develop a range of new skills and insights that will be valuable in other situations, such as being on the board of a community organisation and becoming a member of parliament.

Personal benefits include:

increased understanding of the operation of government at all levels;
increased confidence in communicating and dealing with people; and
increased knowledge of governance and management processes.