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24. Appointment
of Electoral Officer
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Reference Te Tohutoro:
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25/728610
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Responsible Officer(s) Te Pou Matua:
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Helen
White, General Counsel/ Director of Legal and Democratic Services
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Accountable ELT Member Pouwhakarae:
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Helen
White, General Counsel / Director of Legal & Democratic Services
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1. Purpose and Origin of the Report Te Pūtake Pūrongo
1.1 The
purpose of this report is for the Council to appoint an independent electoral
services contractor as its Electoral Officer.
2. Officer Recommendations Ngā
Tūtohu
That the Council:
1. Receives the information in the Appointment of Electoral Officer Report.
2. Appoints Warwick Lampp of electionz.com as
Electoral Officer for the purposes of the Local Electoral Act 2001.
3. Notes that the decisions in this report are
assessed as low significance based on the Christchurch City Council’s
Significance and Engagement Policy.
4. Notes that Public Excluded Attachment A of
this report can be released to the public when the current contract with electionz.com expires.
3. Executive Summary Te Whakarāpopoto Matua
3.1 The Local Electoral Act 2001
(Section 12A) requires all local authorities to appoint an Electoral Officer
whose appointment must always be in place. While the role of Electoral Officer is appointed by the local authority, legislation allows for the
appointee to be a local authority officer or a contractor to the local
authority.
3.2 Section
14 (1) Local Electoral Act 2001 stipulates that the Electoral Officer is not
subject to the directions of any local authority, local board or community
board in the exercise of powers. For either inhouse or contractor
Electoral Officer roles, the local authority needs to be cognisant that the
Electoral Officer, deputy Electoral Officer and electoral officials must act
independently. The principles and obligations defined in the Local
Electoral Act and the Local Government Act 2002 must be applied and staff and
elected members should be made aware of requirements relating to communications
and conduct throughout the pre-election period.
3.3 The
practise of the Council has been to appoint an in-house staff member to perform
the role of Electoral Officer. The incumbent staff member has performed
the role since 2016. Most councils across New Zealand have appointed a
contractor to the Electoral Officer role. These contractors are
independent electoral services professionals. For 78 councils, there are
only six that retain an in-house Electoral Officer role.
3.4 The
Council has recently completed a procurement process for election services and
entered into a contract with electionz.com, an independent election services
company. The contractual agreement provides for Electoral Officer services
should Council so decide.
3.5 There
are benefits to retaining the service in-house which are outweighed by the
benefits of appointing an independent external contractor. The risk to the
reputation of the Council is high as elections present many complexities. This
includes sitting elected members standing as candidates and new community
candidates which may confuse the existing staff relationships with the
independent Electoral Officer role.
3.6 Public
trust and confidence are of primary importance and an external contracted
person appointed to the Electoral Officer role will give increased assurance
that genuine independence and fairness is being maintained.
3.7 There
is no suggestion that there has been any actual compromise of independence, the
benefit of an independent contractor is that it removes the risk and any
perception of favour.
3.8 The
decision to change to an outsourced Electoral Officer role coincides with the
recent commencement of a new election services contract.
4. Background/Context Te Horopaki
4.1 The choice before the
Council is whether to retain in-house staff member knowledge and experience in
a public facing, high profile Electoral Officer role or whether to appoint an
independent election services contractor.
Options Considered Ngā Kōwhiringa Whaiwhakaaro
4.2 The
following reasonably practicable options were considered and are assessed in
this report:
4.2.1 Outsource the Electoral Officer role and appoint
an independent election services provider to the position. (Staff
Recommendation)
4.2.2 Retain
in-house staff in the role of Electoral Officer. (Status
quo)
Options Descriptions Ngā Kōwhiringa
4.3 Preferred
Option: Outsource the Electoral Officer role to
Warwick Lampp, Chief Returning Officer with independent election services
provider electionz.com. Mr Lampp has indicated that he will appoint the
incumbent staff member Electoral Officer as their deputy Electoral
Officer.
4.3.1 Option
Description: Appoint Warwick Lampp from
electionz.com independent elections services provider as Electoral Officer.
4.3.2 Option
Advantages
· Outsourcing the role preserves the integrity of the electoral process
while removing the risk that there can be a perception that internal
relationships could impact independence.
· Warwick Lampp
of electionz.com has significant experience in performing Electoral Officer
roles for many local authorities and able to respond to and communicate
authoritatively on any electoral matters.
· Experience of
working with the Council as holder of previous electoral services contact.
· Experience
with delivering and resourcing election process and the electoral officer
position across local authorities. As a company
electionz.com provide electoral services to 55 local authorities.
· Retains the
knowledge and experience of the current staff member in the position of deputy
Electoral Officer.
4.3.3 Option
Disadvantages
· New way of
working from existing practice.
4.4 Alternative
option: Retain in-house staff in the role of Electoral Officer (status
quo).
4.4.1 Option
Description: Continue
current arrangement with staff appointed to retain in-house staff in the role
of Electoral Officer with an external contractor as deputy Electoral Officer.
4.4.2 Option
Advantages
· Retention of knowledge and experience of the staff member gained
over many elections of undertaking the role in house for this Council.
· Ongoing
relationship and communications with the election service provider have ensured
that both roles and all functions have been successfully performed throughout
the election period.
4.4.3 Option
Disadvantages
· Risk of perception of compromise of independence.
· A staff member
holds a high-profile role that may be subject to unfair criticism and personal
attacks which is a risk for all publicly facing roles.
Analysis Criteria Ngā Paearu Wetekina
4.5 Public confidence
in and understanding of the electoral processes are integral to delivering a
robust election. The legislation is based on principles of fairness,
independence, transparency, privacy, objectivity and impartiality.
Consideration that the election process is entirely independent and seen to be
entirely independent has underpinned the options analysis above.
5. Financial Implications Ngā Hīraunga Rauemi
5.1 These
are commercially sensitive and contained in a confidential attachment.
6. Considerations Ngā Whai Whakaaro
Risks and Mitigations Ngā Mōrearea me
ngā Whakamātautau
6.1 There is a risk that the
Council does not comply with statutory and regulatory requirements for the
election. This can be mitigated by contracting delivery of election services to
an experienced provider and ensuring that staff who are responsible for the
statutory requirements are well versed and supported in working with the Local
Electoral Act 2001 and regulations.
6.2 There is risk that the Council will not
sufficiently manage the relationship between management (Operational) and
governance (Elected members) leading up to the election. This can be mitigated
by ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clear
and there is ongoing communication with management (Operational) and governance
(Elected members) team/s. All election protocols should be clearly
communicated.
6.3 There is a risk the Council does not effectively
communicate election information and protocols to staff who are standing for
election. This can be mitigated by ensuring that the communication plan is
developed which clearly articulates where staff can ask questions and seek
answers.
Legal Considerations Ngā Hīraunga
ā-Ture
6.4 Statutory
and/or delegated authority to undertake proposals in the report:
6.4.1 The Council
has authority to appoint the Electoral Officer under the Local Electoral Act
2001 (section 14 (1)).
6.5 Other Legal Implications:
6.5.1 There is no
legal context, issue, or implication relevant to this decision that is not covered in the report.
Strategy
and Policy Considerations Te
Whai Kaupapa here
6.6 The
required decisions:
6.6.1 align
with the Christchurch
City Council’s Strategic Framework.
6.6.2
The decisions are assessed as low significance based on the Christchurch City
Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. The level of
significance was determined by the number of people
affected and/or with an interest.
6.6.3 The decisions
are consistent with Council’s Plans and
Policies.
6.7 This
report supports the Council's
Long Term Plan (2024 - 2034):
6.8 Governance
6.8.1 Activity: Governance and Decision Making
· Level of Service: 4.1.2.3 Provide a triennial local
government election (October 2025) - None .
Community
Impacts and Views Ngā Mariu ā-Hāpori
6.9 The Electoral Officer has statutory duties in relation to the
elections for the governing body of the Council and the Community Boards.
Impact on Mana Whenua Ngā Whai Take Mana Whenua (Refer to Section 6 of the trim://19/185409?view help guide to complete this section)
6.10 The decisions do
not involve a significant decision in relation to ancestral land or a
body of water or other elements of intrinsic value, therefore this decision does not specifically impact Mana Whenua, their culture, and
traditions.
6.11 The
decision does not involve a matter of interest to Mana Whenua and will not
impact on our agreed partnership priorities with Ngā
Papatipu Rūnanga.
Climate
Change Impact Considerations Ngā Whai Whakaaro mā te Āhuarangi
6.12 The proposals in
this report are unlikely to contribute significantly to adaptation to the
impacts of climate change or emissions reduction because it involves the
appointment of an individual to the statutory position as Electoral Officer.
7. Next Steps Ngā Mahinga ā-muri
7.1 Should the Council appoint
Mr Lampp as Electoral Officer, staff will update externally facing media.
7.2 Planning
for the delivery of the election is well underway.
Attachments Ngā Tāpirihanga
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No.
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Title
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Reference
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Page
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a
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Electoral
Officer Financial (Under Separate Cover) - Confidential
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25/728611
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In addition to the attached documents, the following background
information is available:
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Document
Name – Location / File Link
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Not
applicable
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Signatories Ngā Kaiwaitohu
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Authors
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Carolyn
Gallagher - Programme Manager
Helen White -
General Counsel / Director of Legal & Democratic Services
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Approved By
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Helen White -
General Counsel / Director of Legal & Democratic Services
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