Governance documents

The Stratford District Council Code of Conduct has been adopted by Council as a guide to elected members on standards of behaviour expected of them in their conduct of public affairs.

Elected members of the Stratford District Council are expected to carry out their duties with a high level of respect, integrity and appropriate conduct. They are responsible for maintaining an acceptable standard of professionalism and regard for others. They also have legislative responsibilities to guide them.

In the interests of clarity and fairness it has been agreed to have available a Code of Conduct which will provide guidance to the conventions, principles and legislative requirements for elected members of the Stratford District Council and make that guidance available to each incoming Council.

View the Council Code of Conduct.

Council has created standing orders as a set of rules that apply to all its meetings. They also set out the principles of behaviour within meetings, and ensure the Council meets the legal requirements of the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

View the Council Standing Orders.

Taranaki Triennial Agreement

This agreement is between Stratford District Council, South Taranaki District Council, New Plymouth District Council and Taranaki Regional Council to commit to working for the good governance of their district or region by acting collaboratively and co-operatively to ensure that issues in common are determined in a manner that is inclusive and avoids unnecessary duplication. This agreement will ensure appropriate levels of consultation and co-ordination are maintained between the local authorities of this region, and between individual local authorities as might be notified.

Horizons Triennial Agreement

This agreement is between the local government authorities within the Manawatu-Wanganui region, of which there are eleven. The eastern part of the Stratford District falls into this region. The Horizons Triennial Agreement works towards the same goals as the Taranaki Triennial Agreement.

The Triennial Agreements can be viewed below.

Taranaki Triennial Agreement 2022-2025
Horizons Triennial Agreement 2022-2025-2025

The Council's Local Governance Statement is a collection of information about the processes that Council uses to engage with the district's citizens and how the Council makes decisions. It also promotes local democracy by providing the public with information on ways they can influence local democratic processes.

This document clarifies the governance and the management responsibilities, the governance role and expected conduct of Elected Members, and describes the effective and transparent processes used by Council. Local Governance Statements ensure the community has one source of information on the processes the Council follows when making decisions and taking action and how the community can influence these processes.

View the Local Governance Statement

A requirement of the Local Government Act 2002 (Part 4, Subpart 3 – Register of members’ pecuniary interests) directs local authorities to keep a register of pecuniary (financial) interests of elected members and make this register publicly available.

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

Councillors are required to file a pecuniary interest return annually by the last day of February and update throughout the year as changes occur.

In compliance with this act, which came into effect on 20 November 2022, we've provided a link to the summary register below. This register provides detailed information about each type of interest to be reported followed by the information disclosed by Councillors.

View the Pecuniary Interest Register here.