The Dunedin-based regional councillor resigned in protest last month after he said "misguided" government ministers stepped in and prevented a vote on Otago’s land and water plan.
Cr Scott, who was first elected in 2004, said ensuring the council had a fit-for-purpose freshwater planning framework was the key policy he stood for at the last election but after the government amended the Resource Management Act (RMA) to block the vote, that was no longer possible in the foreseeable future.
Because local elections were less than a year away, Cr Scott’s resignation would not trigger a by-election, the council confirmed at the time.
Now, in a report to councillors, council strategy and customer general manager Amanda Vercoe said the Remuneration Authority determined that if the vacancy was not filled, Cr Scott’s unpaid salary must be distributed among the remaining councillors.
Mrs Vercoe said replacements for Cr Scott in his roles as co-chairman of both the environmental implementation committee and the regional leadership committee should also be considered at tomorrow’s council meeting.
Cr Scott’s positions on the Otago Catchment Community Governance Group and the Dunedin Tracks and Trust, as an alternate, should be considered too, Mrs Vercoe said.
It is the second consecutive term in which an Otago regional councillor has resigned.
Three years ago, councillor Marian Hobbs quit the council after a controversial vote on low-flow settings for the Manuherikia River.
She vowed to resign if then Environment Minister David Parker did not replace elected councillors with commissioners after the vote. Mr Parker did not and she left.
At the time, it was Cr Scott who argued the next-highest-polling candidate in the Dunedin constituency at the last election should be invited to join the council table.
However, his bid to invite environmental consultant Scott Willis to join the council table lost in a 7-4 vote (Mr Willis has since become a Green list MP after contesting the Taieri electorate.)
In 2021, Ms Hobbs’ remaining annual salary of $62,000 was divided evenly among the remaining 10 councillors, excluding then council chairman Cr Andrew Noone, as per the rules set out by the Remuneration Authority.
The result riled some commenters and subsequently Crs Scott, Michael Laws, Alexa Forbes, and Hilary Calvert all said they would not keep the additional money.
Cr Scott was the second-highest polling Dunedin constituency councillor at the 2022 election, receiving 15,172 votes.
Richard Anderson received the most votes of those who were not elected at the time, receiving 9559 votes.
Cr Scott was paid about $67,405 a year for his role at the council, Mrs Vercoe said yesterday.
Her report to councillors also indicated councillors could appoint someone as his successor at tomorrow’s meeting.
