Draft policy targets conflicts of interest
Environment Southland is developing a conflict of interest policy to provide guidance to staff and potentially to contractors or consultants engaged by the council.
Stuff reported on Monday, that the regional council’s policy planning and regulatory services director Vin Smith is a 50 per cent shareholder in Envira Consulting Ltd, which the council has used in the industrial consents area.
Smith’s wife Sarah is the company’s director and only other shareholder.
Council chief executive Rob Phillips said any conflict around the use of Envira Consulting was managed.
A policy draft is due to be discussed at the council’s Organisational Performance and Audit Committee meeting today.
The draft policy says employees may not be involved in the decision to appoint or employ a person with whom the employee has a personal connection, the decision to conduct business with a person or organisation with whom the employee has a personal connection, influencing or participating in a decision to award grants or contracts where the employee is connected to a person or organisation that submitted an application or tender. Under the policy, limited activities would include those which employees own shares in or are working for organisations that have dealings with the council, or making public submissions to the council in a private capacity.
An Employee Conflicts of Interest Register will be established, and assessment and treatment of any perceived conflicts would be determined at an executive level, with the support of Human Resources if required.
The agenda says conflicts of interest sometimes cannot be avoided, but they need not cause problems if they are promptly disclosed and well managed.
Phillips, when asked yesterday, if the draft policy was now being initiated because of the Smith situation, said no.
‘‘It’s not to do with that. It’s something we’ve been putting in place for some time,’’ he said.
The council had always had a practice in place for managing situations where there could be a conflict of interest, he said.
‘‘We’re putting a policy in place. We’ve always had a practice in place for managing these situations and now we’re strengthening it in some areas.’’
‘‘It’s not to do with that. It’s something we’ve been putting in place for some time.’’ Environment Southland chief executive Rob Phillips said the draft policy was not being initiated because of the Envira Consulting situation.