This Act may be cited as the Taieri County Empowering (Community Centres) Act 1970.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

In addition to the powers conferred upon the Council by the Counties Act 1956 and by the Physical Welfare and Recreation Act 1937, the Council may make such provision for community centres within the County of Taieri as the Council may from time to time determine, and for that purpose may:

Where in the opinion of the Council, residents of the County of Taieri are using or deriving benefit from or are likely to use or derive benefit from a community centre either established or to be established outside the County of Taieri by an adjoining local authority then and in such case, and in addition to the powers conferred upon it by the Counties Act 1956 and the Physical Welfare and Recreation Act 1937, the Council may make such contribution or contributions as it may from time to time determine towards the cost of the exercise by that local authority in respect of that community centre of any of the powers mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (1) of this section.

The Council may, by special order made pursuant to section 87 of the Counties Act 1956, declare any part of the County of Taieri to be a district for the purposes of this Act.

The special order shall state with reasonable particularity the boundaries of a district by reference to survey lines or descriptions, roads, or streets, or by such other method as the Council may deem adequate, and shall refer to a plan of the district, which shall be exhibited in the offices of the Council for the period between the special meeting called to pass the special order and the meeting called to confirm the same. A copy of the plan shall also be exhibited for the same period in an office or other suitable place situated in the proposed district and open to the public for a reasonable time on each day on which the offices of the Council are open to the public.

The Council may at any time and from time to time, by special order abolish any district so created, or extend, reduce, alter, amend, or modify the boundaries of any district, or amalgamate 2 or more districts, and the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall apply with the necessary modifications.

The Council may in its discretion place the control and management of any one or more community centres in a committee or committees.

Any such committee shall be comprised of not less than 2 members of the Council, and if members other than Councillors shall also be appointed then their number shall not exceed twice the number of Councillors:

Provided that the Council may in its discretion in lieu of appointing a committee as above, appoint a County Town Committee to have control and management of a community centre in or adjacent to the County Town.

The Council, and any committee with the approval of the Council, may form a district committee for each community centre for the purpose of assisting in an advisory and supervisory capacity in the conduct and administration of the community centre. Any such district committee shall have no power to bind the committee or the Council in respect of the control and administration of the community centre, but shall be subject in all things to the jurisdiction and discretion of the committee or the Council.

Members of a district committee, and members of committees other than Councillors, shall, if they live in the County of Taieri, be residents of the community centre district in which the committee or district committee is involved, and any person including a member of the Council may be a member of a committee and of a district committee.

Prior to appointing members other than Councillors to a committee, or forming a district committee, the Council or a committee may, but shall not be bound to, request nominations from a public meeting or from voluntary organisations within the district or by advertisement or otherwise, as the Council may direct, and shall not be bound to make appointments or form committees solely from any such nominations.

The provisions of sections 71 to 75 of the Counties Act 1956 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to any committee or district committee appointed or formed under this section.

The provisions of this section shall apply only in respect of community centres established or to be established within the County of Taieri.

It shall not be lawful for the Council to contribute towards the establishment or maintenance of a community centre outside the County of Taieri in pursuance of the provisions of subsection (2) of section 3 of this Act unless the Council is represented by not less than one Council member or nominee on any body set up either by the relevant adjoining local authority or otherwise to control and manage that community centre.

Any such nominee shall be a resident of the County of Taieri who uses or derives benefit from, or is likely to use or derive benefit from, the community centre.

The powers conferred upon the Council by sections 12 and 13 of the Physical Welfare and Recreation Act 1937 shall extend to and include, and be deemed to extend to and include, the expenditure of money upon and the raising of loans for the construction, maintenance, repair, development, control, and administration of a community centre and the provision of facilities and equipment for the same.

Section 319 of the Counties Act 1956 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to a community centre established under this Act.

The provision of a community centre, including the acquisition of land of any estate for such purpose, shall be deemed a public work within the meaning of the Public Works Act 1928.

The Council may from time to time, out of its ordinary funds, make such contributions for the provision, conduct, or maintenance of community centres as it may think fit.

For the purpose of providing the estimated amount of any loan charges and of any construction, maintenance, equipment, and administration costs of any community centre established under this Act or otherwise where, in the opinion of the Council, residents of the County of Taieri are deriving or are likely to derive benefit, the Council may, by special order, subject to the provisions of this section, make and levy a uniform annual fee to be paid by the occupier, as defined by the Counties Act 1956, of each dwelling unit situated within the district, but in no case shall the amount of the fee exceed in any year, the sum of $5.20 in respect of any dwelling unit.

The amount of such annual fee as aforesaid shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Council by the occupier.

The power conferred by this section to make and levy a uniform annual fee may be exercised by the Council upon a petition signed by a majority of the occupiers, as defined by the Counties Act 1956, of the dwelling units in the district in which the annual fee is to be levied, or, in the discretion of the Council, may be exercised without any such petition:

Provided that, where the Council proposes to exercise that power without any petition, a poll of occupiers, as defined by the Counties Act 1956, of the dwelling units in the district shall be taken on the proposal to make and levy the annual fee where—

and the annual fee shall not be made and levied unless a majority of the valid votes recorded at the poll are in favour of the proposal. Every such poll shall be held and taken by the Council in the manner provided by the Local Elections and Polls Act 1966, and the provisions of that Act, shall, as far as they are applicable, apply in respect of every such poll.

Notice of the right to demand a poll pursuant to paragraph (a) of the proviso to subsection (3) of this section shall be included in the public notice required to be given by paragraph (c) of section 87 of the Counties Act 1956.

Notwithstanding anything in section 9 of this Act, in any case where a uniform annual fee may be levied pursuant to that section to be paid by the occupier, as defined by the Counties Act 1956, of any dwelling unit erected on land which is rateable property, the Council may, instead of levying that uniform annual fee, levy upon such rateable property an annual charge which shall consist of a uniform annual charge in respect of each dwelling unit situated on that rateable property, and which shall for all purposes be deemed to be a separate rate:

Provided that nothing in this section shall permit in any year of the uniform annual charge assessed in respect of each dwelling unit situated on any rateable property exceeding the uniform annual fee which is or may be levied in that year on any dwelling unit pursuant to the said section 9.

In the case of any dwelling unit owned by Her Majesty the Queen for the purposes of the Housing Act 1955 or for any other purpose, the State Advances Corporation of New Zealand or other Department of State administering the dwelling unit may, without further authority than this section, out of money received by the said Corporation under subsection (1) of section 32 of the Housing Act 1955, or, as the case may require, out of the appropriate account, pay to the Council the amount of the annual fee in respect of that dwelling unit or the amount of any annual charge that would be payable under section 10 of this Act in respect of that dwelling unit if it were erected on land which is rateable property.

In any such case as aforesaid the said Corporation or Department may, notwithstanding anything contained in the Tenancy Act 1955, from time to time, on giving not less than 14 days’ notice in writing to the tenant, increase the rent payable in respect of the dwelling unit by an amount equal to the annual fee or annual charge so payable, and on the expiry of the period of the notice the contract or agreement for the tenancy of the premises shall be deemed to be varied accordingly.

In addition to the powers conferred upon the Council by section 401 of the Counties Act 1956, the Council may make such bylaws as it thinks fit for all or any of the following purposes in respect of a community centre:

A district shall, for the purposes of the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956, be deemed to be a defined part of the County of Taieri.