Proposed changes at Porirua Community Trust.

Virginia Fallon Reporter from Kapi-Mana News

The Porirua Community Trust have asked us to share the following information about some proposed changes....

Background
Trustees at the Porirua Community Trust have been reviewing the structure of the current Trust, which was set up under quite different conditions as a Licensing Trust during the local authority elections of 1956. At the time Licensing Trusts were established to operate and manage liquor sales in local areas, under exclusive rights which were abolished locally in 1995.
As a result the Trust’s structure has evolved to be quite complex. The parent body, the Porirua Community Trust (which holds no assets), has the sole purpose of enabling public election of Trustees triennially. These Trustees are then appointed to the Board of Trust Porirua, a subsidiary charitable Trust, which holds around $5m in public assets. Further, the Trustees also act as a Net Proceeds Committee for Trust House Foundation, making recommendations to Trust House Foundation for the distribution of gaming proceeds from venues in Porirua City.

Costs

The current structure is outdated and costly; currently $40k is spent on public elections every three years and there are significant audit costs of around $21k annually, due to the requirement for costly public Audit Office audits. Effectively this means that an extra $100k is spent every three years to support the current structure of the Trust.

A more streamlined and modern Trust structure would save significant funds and enable the Trust to distribute more funds back to the community and/or grow the Trust for the future benefit of the community.

Legal advice has been sought regarding the wind up of the Porirua Community Trust, which would remove the need for expenditure on public elections, extra administration costs, and excessive annual audit costs. The proposal is to transfer the remaining public assets of approximately $5m in buildings and investment funds from Trust Porirua into a new charitable Trust, which will be more flexible in meeting community needs.

Current Trustees have passed a resolution by majority to actively advance the wind up of the Porirua Community Trust and transfer the assets of Trust Porirua into a new charitable Trust called ‘The Porirua Charitable Trust’.

Because of the democratic election aspect of the process, the current Trustees have agreed that it is important to undertake community engagement over the future structure of the Trust. Although there is no legal requirement to do so, the Trustees have agreed that this process of community engagement is a matter of good and transparent process.

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Statement of proposal

That a new charitable Trust ‘The Porirua Charitable Trust’ is established. The assets of around $5m from Trust Porirua are transferred to this new Trust.

The Trust’s purpose is defined as follows:

Charitable, cultural, philanthropic, recreational, and other purposes that are beneficial exclusively or principally to the local community. The local community is defined as that which is within the Porirua City boundaries, from Pukerua Bay through to Kenepuru.

Trustees are appointed by a process which could involve the following options:

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Trustee Appointment – Option 1

This option is preferred by the majority of current Trustees who believe that it ensures good community representation and a wide range of essential skill sets.

The Board will comprise up to seven Trustees, of whom:

One is appointed by the Mayor of Porirua City

One is a city councillor appointed by the city council

One is appointed by the Porirua Chamber of Commerce

One is appointed by the local branch of the NZ Law Society (registered and practicing law in the Porirua region)

One is appointed by Ngati Toa Runanga Council

A further one or two can be appointed by existing Trustees to cover a particular demographic, need or skillset

In the event that a Trustee is unable to be appointed in accordance with the procedure set out above , due to the appointing organisation ceasing to exist, or being unable or unwilling to make the appointment, the appointment shall be made by the other newly appointed Trustees.

Trustees will be appointed for a period of 3 years with the potential for reappointment for two further terms. The maximum length of appointment to the Trust of any individual Trustee shall not exceed 9 years.

Existing Trustees will work in the best interests of the community and guide future Trustee appointments according to demographic and skill set gaps, where it is deemed necessary.

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Trustee appointment – Option 2

Up to 7 Trustees are appointed, with the power of appointment and removal being vested in the other currently appointed trustees.

Trustees will be appointed for a period of 3 years with the potential for reappointment for two further terms. The maximum length of appointment to the Trust of any individual Trustee shall not exceed 9 years.

Existing Trustees will work, in the best interests of the community and guide future Trustee appointments according to demographic and skill set gaps, where it is deemed necessary.

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Trustee appointment – Option 3

Continue as per the status quo with public elections of six Trustees from a structure that has evolved from the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and the Licensing Trust model.

This option will continue to attract extra election, administration and audit costs averaging around $34k per year (or $100k every 3 years). There is no maximum length of Trustee appointments.



Public submissions – by email and by post

Public submissions are sought on the proposal:

By email: feedback@pct.org.nz

By post: New Charitable Trust Submission, Porirua Community Trust, PO Box 50 779, Porirua 5240

The submission can be made using the feedback form available in the ‘latest news’ section of the website at www.poriruacommunitytrust.org.nz...

In your submission please indicate whether you wish to speak to your submission at the public meeting.

Submissions close 5pm, Friday 2nd March 2018.



A public meeting will be held on Wednesday 28th February to outline the proposal and answer any questions the local community may have.

Date: Wednesday 28th February

Time: 10am

Venue: Meeting Room 1, Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua



For further details go to www.poriruacommunitytrust.org.nz...