Council to lose TDHL majority
A decision to restructure the board of Timaru District Holdings Ltd divided councillors at a council meeting on Tuesday.
A vote was passed, five councillors to four, to entrench three independent directors and two councillors to the board, with one of the independent directors to be chairperson.
The former balance of the board was three council appointees and two independent appointees.
The vote came after a review of the holdings company was called for after the controversial proposal to sell its 47.5 per cent share of Alpine Energy.
The report was commissioned to look into the make-up of the TDHL board, the appointment process, competency framework and performance monitoring framework.
It recommends ‘‘there be an independent chair and then an equal number of independent and councillor directors, with a view to transitioning to more independent directors than councillor directors over time’’.
Mayor Nigel Bowen, councillor Richard Lyon and independent chairman Ian Fitzgerald, who was appointed last year, are directors of TDHL.
Bowen voted against the proposal, as he felt the entrenchment of this structure would not move towards the goal of the review.
He suggested all positions be opened up to independents over time, although councillors could still stand for these positions.
Council would oversee TDHL’s statement of intent and reports, he said.
Councillors Stu Piddington, Barbara Gilchrist and Sally Parker were also against the proposal.
Allan Booth, who put forward the motion to entrench three independents and two council appointees, felt this was a good balance.
If all positions were opened up to independents, it would be unlikely councillors would stand a chance against more qualified professional directors, Booth said.
Bowen said he would be stepping down from the board as his position was always intended as an interim appointment, but he could not comment on whether the other directors would remain on the board.
‘‘It is probably too early to predetermine an outcome,’’ he said.