Council's role and purpose

Council’s main function is to deliver core services to the community:

• We provide safe drinking water, regular, reliable rubbish collection, sewage collection, treatment and disposal. 
• We enforce environmental and building safety requirements and standards. 
• We provide safe and secure transportation systems, including footpaths, roads, highways and traffic lights. 
• We provide community infrastructure, like libraries, sportsfields, playgrounds, street amenities and community grants.

Key activities  

The work that Council does has been grouped into 12 key activities. 

1. Transportation

Integrated transport system, roading, footpaths, public transport infrastructure, walking and cycling, carparks. 

2. Parks and recreation 

Sports and active recreation, playgrounds, walking tracks, natural areas, cemeteries and public toilet facilities. 

3. Water 

Water quality and safety and resilience of supply. 

4. Wastewater 

Wastewater network and treatment. 

5. Stormwater

Stormwater management and freshwater quality and catchment planning. 

6. Coastal systems and flood management

Mitigate risks to the community from coastal and fluvial flooding. 

7. Flood protection 

Hikurangi Repo Flood Management Scheme. 

8. Solid waste 

Waste minimisation, collection and disposal. 

9. Community facilities and services

• public libraries
• pensioner housing and community halls
• community-led development, grants and community funding, community safety, advisory groups and welcoming communities
• Council-owned venues and events
• contact centres and visitor information centres
• civil defence preparedness, response and recovery.

10. Planning and regulatory 

• district planning 
• resource consents and consent monitoring
• building control, Project Information Memorandums and Land Information Memorandums
• environmental health and bylaw enforcement.

11. Governance and strategy 

• democracy, assurance and legal 
• strategy development, place-based planning, statutory policies and bylaws and corporate planning
• nurturing and enhancing our Tiriti relationship for the betterment of the District
• economic development, destination marketing and commercial property.

12. Support services

Finance services, rates and revenue, people and capability, ICT, communications, business support, capital projects, planning and development engineering.

The elected Council is made up of the Mayor and 13 Councillors who represent the community.

The Mayor

The Mayor is elected by the community. As one of the elected members, the Mayor shares the same responsibilities as other members of Council.

In addition, the Mayor is expected to provide leadership and direction to the Council and community, chair Council meetings, be the public voice of the Council, and be accountable to the community.

Deputy Mayor

The Deputy Mayor exercises the same roles as other elected members. In addition, the Deputy Mayor may act on behalf of the Mayor when needed.

Elected Members

Elected members have two broad roles, a governance role and a representative role. This generally involves:

Governance

• The development and adoption of Council policy.
• Making decisions on the allocation of resources.
• Making regulatory decisions and ensuring council is fulfilling its regulatory functions.
• Adopting a Long Term Plan that sets out how council will meet community expectations and exercise responsible stewardship of the community's assets.
• Overseeing the strategic direction of the District.
• Reviewing Council's performance against its stated objectives and policies.
• Employment of the Chief Executive.

Representation

• Representing the interests of residents and ratepayers.
• Bringing the views of the community into the decision-making process. 
• Networking and communicating with the community.
• Facilitating communication between the council and the community.
• Promoting the overall interests of Council.

View elected members

Code of conduct

All elected members are required to adhere to the Elected Members Code of Conduct, which provides guidance on the standards of behaviour that are expected from the Mayor and elected members of the Whangarei District Council. 

Elected Members Code of Conduct 

Register of pecuniary interests of elected members

Since 20 November 2022 an elected member has an obligation to submit an annual Pecuniary Interests Return declaration under Part 4, Subpart 3 of the Local Government Act.

Council is required to maintain a  public register of the pecuniary (financial) interests of elected members. These will be updated at least annually.

The overarching purpose of the register is to record Councillor interests to enhance transparency and strengthen public trust and confidence in local government processes and decision-making. 

In accordance with the requirements of the Act, a link to the public register is provided below.

2025 pecuniary interests of elected members of Whangarei District Council(PDF, 199KB)

Elected member remuneration

Elected members are classified as self employed and paid a salary. There are different levels of remuneration depending on the specific roles and responsibilities of elected members.

Elected member remuneration is set annually by the Remuneration Authority.

Elected member expenses

Elected members may incur expenses while on Council business, for which they can be reimbursed. The Remuneration Authority sets the allowances and expenses which may be reimbursed. These and other entitlement are outlined in the Elected Members Allowances and Recovery of Expenses Policy.

For more information on elected member remuneration, follow the link below.

Pay for local government elected members (remauthority.govt.nz)

Elected Member Allowances and Recovery of Expenses Policy

Political structure

In addition to meetings of the full Council, decision-making is separated into five Committees of the Whole and six Specialist Committees.

The committees set policy and make sure that Council business is being conducted in accordance with legislation, Council's strategic objectives and our Community Outcomes in the Long Term Plan.

See details of Council committees, their membership, terms of reference and delegations.

Council committees

Management structure

The Mayor and Councillors appoint a Chief Executive to manage Council operations and lead its administrative organisation.

The Chief Executive is responsible for:

• advising the Mayor and Councillors on policy matters
• ensuring any policy adopted by Council is correctly implemented.

The Chief Executive performs these responsibilities by delegating tasks and authority to a Strategic Leadership Team and other Council staff.

View Strategic Leadership Team

Section 15 of the Local Government Act 2002 requires all local authorities within a region to work collaboratively with each other to coordinate regional responsibilities. 

At the start of each triennium, the four Northland councils – Far North District Council, Kaipara District Council, Northland Regional Council and Whangarei District Council – agree and sign the Triennial Agreement for the term. 

The purpose of the Triennial Agreement is for the councils in Northland to commit to working for the good governance of their district and the region by acting collaboratively to ensure that issues in common occurring within or impacting on the region are discussed openly to avoid unnecessary duplication of work.

Use our online form to enquire about our democratic functions, including:

• queries about access to agendas and minutes
• queries about the annual plan and Long Term Plan process
• queries about representation reviews
• Councillor queries.

Enquire online

For more information about agendas and minutes, council committees or attending a public forum, please follow the link below.

Council meetings