Report tabled: Regional councillors’ yearly expenses revealed
Bay of Plenty regional councillors collectively spent almost $134,000 in the last financial year.
A report presented to the regional council’s risk and assurance committee meeting on Thursday revealed the relative expenses for each councillor over the year, including a $15,603.90 non-taxable sum for council chairman Doug Leeder.
That raised the eyebrows of councillor Paula Thompson, who asked why it was non-taxable.
Council governance manager Yvonne Tatton said the expenses were “accommodation and sundry” costs and offered to provide councillors with a specific list if required.
The council’s corporate general manager, Mat Taylor, said the expenses in that category were reimbursements.
“There’s no tax to pay on a reimbursement of a cost so it’s not a taxable payment like a salary would be.”
The expenses were divided into seven categories: Council-related business, professional development, travel time, mileage, nontaxable, meeting fees for hearings and communication allowances.
The range for individuals was $15,603 for Leeder, to just $950 for Thompson. The $133,790 expenses were spread across 14 councillors.
O¯ kurei ward councillor Te Taru White said he was surprised his expenses for council-related business amounted to $4033 and he wondered if some costs for professional development had been categorised as council-related business.
Tatton said that under the council’s elected member expenses policies, council-related business expenses were, for example, expenses incurred on a conference where an elected member had been sent as a representative of the council, as opposed to someone who attended a conference out of interest or for professional development.
Councillor Jane Nees asked why some councillors received $990 for the communication allowance while others received $950.
Tatton said this was because some councillors had printers allocated to them under a sincerevoked policy, and so had had $40 taken off their allowance.
The committee’s chairman, David Love, said he had asked council officers for details on how the expenses approval process worked and council officers had informed him there were four levels of checks on them.
“I’m satisfied there is a robust system in place to check these payments.”
Tatton’s report for the meeting stated $3500 was available to each councillor for professional skills development in their roles, and councillors identified those opportunities themselves.
Only three councillors — Stacey Rose, White and Andrew von Dadelszen had used it in 2020 / 2021.
“The professional development budget also incorporates any training and development by the council as a whole. Any requests to attend courses or conferences are approved by the chairman [Doug Leeder] and the chief executive [Fiona Mctavish].”
Her report said expenditure on conferences require prior joint approval by the chairman and chief executive, or in cases where the chairman may be travelling, his approval was deputised to the deputy chair.
“Expenditure includes event, course or conference registration and associated travel, accommodation and incidentals.”
Councillors submit expenditure reimbursement claims, which are reviewed and approved monthly, Tatton’s report said.
“Costs incurred by councillors as representatives of their communities must have a justifiable business purpose, be moderate and conservative having regard to the circumstances, and be appropriate in all respects.”
Councillors received an individual summary of their expenditure to review before the information was presented at the meeting.