Independent chair for council

The Horowhenua District Council has gone against the trend of most local body authorities by opting to hire an independent chairperson.

Horowhenua mayor Michael Feyen said the position, as chairperson of the finance, audit and risk committee, was advertised publicly in a bid to offer transparency on the council.

Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said while few councils had an independent chairperson for committees it was ‘‘definitely best practice’’.

Fifteen councils of about 70 in New Zealand had an independent finance committee chairperson.

‘‘If you get the right independent person they give a completely objective view. It prevents the risk of having tunnel vision.’’

In the past two years, Yule said he had seen more councils hiring externally and expected that number to rise.

It’s not a trend the Palmerston North City Council is following, however.

Mayor Grant Smith said the council had ‘‘a great deal of knowledge and expertise in-house’’.

‘‘Councillors have had some informal discussions about bringing outside experience into our eight standing committees made up of elected members. However, at this stage, there are no current plans to change the committee membership structure.’’

The council has appointed an independent member for the committee in the past, but there was no record of appointing an independent chairperson.

Having an independent voice was part of bringing ‘‘community back in council’’, Feyen said.

Councillors had supported the appointment. Neville Gimblett said because the finance committee dealt with tax payer money, it was a good idea to have an independent person.