Councillors discussed sacking deputy mayor at closed-door meeting

Councillors discussed sacking Invercargill's deputy mayor at a crucial closed-door meeting where the council decided on a response to a central Government probe into its performance.

The meeting about dysfunction at Invercargill City Council lasted into the evening yesterday and this morning a statement was sent to media saying councillors had accepted the contents of an an independent review into governance at the council.

The statement - which gave no details about the review or the outcome of last night's meeting - said the council would now present the details of a plan to address the matters raised to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

The DIA  triggered the review after raising concerns about "significant conflict" at the council, which has been beset with infighting and claims Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt is no longer up to the job.

The Otago Daily Times understands councillors agreed not to discuss the contents of the report until they had assurance from the DIA the council was following the right path.

It was also understood the report - carried out by independent evaluator Richard Thomson - featured commentary about Sir Tim, deputy mayor Nobby Clark and chief executive Clare Hadley.

It is understood it went over concerns over the performance of the mayor and outspoken comments Cr Clark has made to media.

Ms Hadley's relationship with elected representatives was also discussed.

Removing Cr Clark as deputy mayor was discussed by councillors at the meeting, but in the end he was not removed from the role, which he was appointed to last month after the resignation of Cr Toni Biddle.

One source said the meeting started tense, but councillors left happy.

This morning's statement did not reveal any of the contents of the report or what the "way forward" was and councillors yesterday refused to discuss its contents or the outcome of the meeting.

The ODT has requested a copy of the review.

The statement said discussions with the DIA would take place over the coming weeks and it was expected the council would be able to share its plans for the future with the community soon.

The governance review was carried out as part of the council’s response to an August 18 letter from the DIA.

The DIA requested assurance the council was taking proactive measures to address the concerns and set out a range of specific required actions – one of which was to carry out "an independent evaluation of the current standard of governance performance by elected representatives".

Councillors declined to go into detail about the meeting or the contents of the review, but those spoken to by the Otago Daily Times described the outcome as positive.

Cr Clark described the meeting as one of the best he attended throughout the year.

"There was a lot of good will around the table."

The report needed to be given to the DIA after which he expected parts or all would be made public.

Cr Alex Crackett said there was agreement among councillors about the next moves.

"'There is no doubt the report raises some challenging issues but we had a really positive meeting and we were unanimous in what we will do about it."

Cr Lindsay Abbott also said it was a positive, but like others would not comment on the details because the council needed to talk to the DIA first.

Cr Peter Kett said when he decided to run for council, he knew it would be tough, but described this term - his sixth - as the hardest.

"The last 12 months  was the biggest challenge of my life."

He said the outcome of the meeting was positive.

"I'm so relieved we can put all behind us now."

Council chief executive Clare Hadley acknowledged the community’s strong interest in the outcome of the review process.

"We are acting with urgency to address the issues raised and agree a pathway forward that will restore the community’s confidence.

She said she realised the community was eager to find out more about the process.

"However, it is important that we follow the process through, working with the DIA to discuss how we put a plan in place for the future and offering the assurance they need that the council is addressing the concerns raised."

Council last night unanimously agreed to adopt the report of the governance review and agreed a range of possible actions to address the issues it raised.

Sir Tim said everyone around the council table is committed to working together to maintain the confidence of the community.

"There’s no doubt that this process is raising some challenging issues for our council to address, but we are up to the task.

"We’ve got some good ideas about how to move forward and, once we’ve worked through these with the DIA, I’m looking forward to sharing our pathway forward with the community and getting on with the task at hand.”

At the closed door meeting, which started at 6pm and lasted at least three hours, councillors debated the report.

They refused to share the contents of the report, by independent evaluator Richard Thomson, ahead of the meeting.

Before the session went into the public excluded section, councillors approved major late items, which included a report about the next steps council would need to take.