Please note: these minutes are subject to confirmation at the next Council meeting
to be held on 15 August 2017
HUTT CITY COUNCIL
Minutes of an extraordinary
meeting of The Hutt City Council held in the
Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 30 Laings Road, Lower Hutt on
Monday 12 June 2017 commencing at 6.00pm
PRESENT: Mayor WR Wallace (Chair)
Cr G Barratt Cr C Barry
Deputy Mayor D Bassett Cr L Bridson
Cr J Briggs Cr MJ Cousins
Cr S Edwards Cr T Lewis
Cr M Lulich Cr G McDonald
Cr C Milne Cr L Sutton
APOLOGIES: There were no apologies.
IN ATTENDANCE: Mr T Stallinger, Chief Executive
Ms K Kelly, General Manager, Strategic Services
Mr B Sherlock, General Manager, City Infrastructure
Ms J Raffills, General Manager, Governance and Regulatory
Mr M Reid, General Manager, Community Services
Mr B Kibblewhite, Chief Financial Officer
Mr B Cato, Solicitor
Mr G Craig, City Development Manager
Mr C Walton, Chief Executive, UrbanPlus Ltd
Mr P Maaka, Urban Design Manager
Ms S Simcox, Communications and Marketing Team Leader
Mr J Hoyle, Communications and Marketing Advisor
Ms K Stannard, Divisional Manager Secretariat Services
PUBLIC BUSINESS
1. APOLOGIES
There were no apologies.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
Comments are recorded under the item to which they relate.
3. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS
There were no conflicts of interest.
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4. |
Report No. HCC2017/3/82 by the Councillor Speaking under public comment, Mr Shierlaw
commended Cr Barry for raising the matter. He believed Mayor Wallace had
made misleading comments relating to meetings where tea, coffee and biscuits
were provided for members. He advised that the Maungaraki
Residents Association held evening meetings and did not provide catering for its
members. He reminded members that they were self-employed and should be
covering their own costs including their own meals. Mayor Wallace highlighted that he had received advice from officers that tea, coffee and biscuits were provided at a number of meetings where agendas were light. MOVED: (Cr Barry/Cr Briggs) "That Council require elected members to provide their own meals prior to, during, or after Full Council and Council Committee meetings. If an elected member wishes for Council to arrange catering for them, then they shall be invoiced a set amount to fully cover the cost of that catering.” Cr Barry elaborated on the reasons for the notice of motion. He advised that Council had recently agreed to a ‘sham’ of a policy where Council had agreed to pay the living wage to its employees on a case on case basis when it was the most cost effective way. He believed that Council had not considered the most cost effective way with any other criteria Council used for its decision making including free meals paid for by the ratepayer. Cr Lulich spoke in support of the motion. He believed that the living wage should be controlled by central government. He elaborated on the way MPs and Parliamentary Services treated employees and the benefits that the MPs received. He advised that from now on he would be bringing his own meals to meetings. Cr Edwards spoke in support of the motion. He acknowledged that the cost of catering was a small amount taking everything else into account. He advised that he was uncomfortable eating meals paid for by the ratepayers when, during the annual plan process, there was not enough funding for community groups. He considered that day meetings were not a solution as that prevent certain people standing for Council and prevent certain members of the public participating in day meetings. Mayor Wallace spoke against the motion. He expressed disappointment that the matter had been handled in the first instance through the media with no attempt to correct misinformation. He advised that guidelines were in place for the catering of meetings. He highlighted that tea, coffee and biscuits were provided to members when meetings were scheduled to finish within the hour. Cr Briggs spoke in support of the motion., He clarified that members received an email from Cr Barry before the media was alerted to the matter and that a discussion on catering had taken place with half of the members. He highlighted that ratepayers were paying for the meals that they were eating. He stated that he would be bringing his own meals to meetings. |
In his right of reply, Cr Barry expressed concern that members were missing the point. He advised that he had not attended any meetings where the catering was just tea, coffee and biscuits. He advised that he was disappointed that Mayor Wallace was not supporting the motion. He considered that members were required to do business in the most cost effective way.
The motion was declared LOST by Division with the voting as follows:-
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For
Cr Barry Cr Lulich Cr Lewis Cr Briggs Cr Bridson Cr Edwards |
Against
Mayor Wallace Deputy Mayor Bassett Cr Barratt Cr Cousins Cr Milne Cr McDonald Cr Sutton |
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Total: 6 |
Total: 7 |
Cr Barry left the meeting at 6.15pm and rejoined the meeting at 6.45pm
5. QUESTIONS
There were no questions.
6. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC
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Resolved: Minute No. C 17301(2) “That the public be excluded from the following parts of the proceedings of this meeting, namely: 7. Matters Pertaining to RiverLink Project (17/888) The general subject of each matter to be considered while the public is excluded, the reason for passing this resolution in relation to each matter, and the specific grounds under section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 for the passing of this resolution are as follows:
This resolution is made in reliance on section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 and the particular interest or interests protected by section 6 or 7 of that Act which would be prejudiced by the holding of the whole or the relevant part of the proceedings of the meeting in public are as specified in Column (B) above.”
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Resolved: (Mayor Wallace/Deputy Mayor Bassett) Minute No. C 17302(2) “That Mr David Allen and Ms Libby Cowper of Buddle Findlay and Mr Craig Walton, Chief Executive of UrbanPlus Ltd be permitted to remain after the public during consideration of the item as they have knowledge of the matter to be discussed that will assist Council in relation to this item.” |
There being no further business the Chair declared the meeting closed at 6.25pm and the non public portion of the meeting finished at 7.45pm
WR Wallace
MAYOR
CONFIRMED as a true and correct record
Dated this 15th day of August 2017