Deputy mayor defends attendance at council meetings

Rotorua Deputy Mayor Trevor Maxwell says he is comfortable with the number of council meetings he attends after a fellow councillor questioned his  record.

At a recent Rotorua District Council meeting, Councillor Maggie Bentley asked if Mr Maxwell should be including non-council activities on his regular deputy mayor's report to councillors, also saying she believed Mr Maxwell did
not attend as many meetings as he should.

Mrs Bentley did not go as far as to say Mr Maxwell should stand down or re-think his position on the council as, she said, he did a very good job as an ambassador for the city.

However, Mrs Bentley said she felt councillors who turned up to meetings late and did not apologise   were a pet hate and  it was disrespectful to other councillors. She also said a number of councillors, whom she would not name, seemed to be reading their agendas during meetings, not beforehand, which was leading to some confusion during debates.

The Daily Post was supplied with attendance figures for all councillors from the last election in October 2010 until the end of September.
 
During that time councillors were expected to attend 105 ordinary council meetings and committee meetings, in cluding any extraordinary meetings.

Mayor Kevin Winters, Mr Maxwell and Councillor Maureen Waaka are also required to attend Te Arawa Standing Committee meetings, so were expected to attend 113 meetings.

Mr Maxwell had attended a total of 85 meetings, an attendance record of 75 per cent.

Mrs Bentley had attended 92 meetings, or 88 per cent.

Councillors are also appointed to local boards, trusts and sub-committees the council is involved with, at the start of their term. Most councillors sit on at least two of these organisations.

Mrs Bentley said she had nothing against Mr Maxwell but said he was "hardly ever there''.

"But I do understand he is often off on other business but not necessarily on council business.

"I do feel he holds a different position on council rather than a councillor. I see him more as an ambassador really. That's his way and I don't have an issue with that ... what he does is very valuable,'' she said.

However, Mr Maxwell said he tried his best to attend all the meetings he could.

"Much of the time I am away I am representing council but, when meetings are scheduled all in one week, especially extraordinary meetings that are sometimes called days before they happen, I miss the lot.''

Mr Maxwell said some councillors had jobs outside of the council.

He said his work as kaupapa Maori director for Tourism New Zealand saw him travelling a lot and he had represented New Zealand at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in London recently.

He also represents Rotorua in various delegations to China.

Meanwhile, at the top of the class was Councillor Julie Calnan who has attended 100 of 105 meetings, at 95 per cent. Mrs Calnan said she agreed with some of what Mrs Bentley said.

"This is my job, everything else comes second. Yes, I do get a little annoyed at people who don't show the same dedication as some others ... there is constant lateness without apology and that's just disrespectful to us and the people of Rotorua.''

She said it was obvious to councillors who had read their agendas or not.

Mrs Calnan said some of Mr Maxwell's work should not be included in his deputy mayor's report but she said he did play an important role in the city.

"He is universally loved by everyone and rightly so.''

Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said she was not concerned about the number of meetings councillors attended but the contribution they made.

"If I'm late, I've just finished a conference call or am heading back from the airport. But I know my views on some of the discussions across the table differ from others, but I do not like to enter into personal attacks.''



Council attendance

Mayor Kevin Winters: 113 scheduled - 103 attended. 91 per cent

Deputy Mayor Trevor Maxwell: 113 - 85. 75 per cent

Glenys Searancke: 105 - 96. 91 per cent

Charles Sturt: 105 - 91. 87 per cent

Dave Donaldson: 105 - 99. 94 per cent

Janet Wepa: 105 - 98. 93 per cent

Julie Calnan: 105 - 100. 95 per cent

Maggie Bentley: 105 - 92. 88 per cent

Mike McVicker: 105 - 97. 92 per cent

Karen Hunt: 105 - 93. 89 per cent

Maureen Waaka: 113 - 99. 88 per cent

Mark Gould: 105 - 99. 94 per cent

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: 26 - 21. 81 per cent (elected in December 2011)  

* Includes all ordinary and extraordinary council and committee meetings plus Te Arawa Standing Committee meetings since the October 2010 local body elections.