Minutes of Extraordinary Council Meeting

CG-14-42-00055 1

HASTINGS DISTRICT COUNCIL

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL

HELD IN Council Chamber, Ground Floor, Civic Administration Building, Lyndon Road East, Hastings ON

Friday, 4 October 2019 AT 9.00am

Present: Mayor Hazlehurst (Chair)

Councillors Barber, Dixon, Harvey, Heaps, Kerr, Lawson, Nixon, O’Keefe, Poulain, Redstone, Schollum, Travers and Watkins.

IN ATTENDANCE: Chief Executive (Mr N Bickle)

Acting Group Manager: Asset Management (Mr B Chapman)

Group Manager: Economic Growth and Organisation Improvement (Mr C Cameron)

Chief Financial Officer (Mr B Allan)

Manager: Democracy and Governance Services (Mrs J Evans)

Democracy & Governance Advisor (Mrs C Hunt)

1. Apologies & Leave of Absence

Mayor Hazlehurst/Councillor Redstone

That an apology for absence from Councillor Lyons be accepted.

CARRIED

Notice of Motion

(Document 19/1058)

The Manager: Democracy and Governance, Mrs Evans referred elected members to Standing Order 22.1 advising that any amendment to a motion could not be a direct negative to the Motion on the table.

22.1 Amendments to be relevant and not direct negatives

Every proposed amendment must be relevant to the motion under discussion. Proposed amendments cannot be similar to an amendment that has already been lost. Any amendment which, if carried, would have the effect of defeating a previous motion that was carried is a direct negative and is therefore not allowed.

Councillor Schollum/Councillor Travers

A) That the Extraordinary Council receives the report titled Notice of Motion.

B) That Council adopt the following Notice of Motion:

· That live streaming of public Council meetings commence from the Extraordinary Council Meeting to be held on Friday 4 October, 2019 at 9.00am”.

CARRIED

Councillors Heaps, Nixon, Harvey, Watkins and Dixon requested their votes AGAINST the Motion be recorded.

Following the Council resolution “live streaming” on Utube was activated for the remainder of the meeting.

Release of Information from a Public Excluded Session

(Document 19/1064)

The Chief Financial Officer (Acting Chief Executive from 24 September to 3 October 2019) advised that under Standing Order 17.5 he released information that had been considered while the public were excluded on 10 September 2019 with some information redacted, due to commercial sensitivity.

17.5 Release of information from public excluded session

A local authority may provide for the release to the public of information which has been considered during the public excluded part of a meeting.

Each public excluded meeting must consider and agree by resolution, what, if any, information will be released to the public. In addition the chief executive may release information which has been considered at a meeting from which the public has been excluded where it is determined the grounds to withhold the information no longer exist. The chief executive will inform the subsequent meeting of the nature of the information released.

Councillor Schollum/Councillor Nixon

A) That the Extraordinary Council receives the report titled Release of Information from a Public Excluded Session.

CARRIED

Investigation into the Unauthorised Disclosure of Confidential Information

(Document 19/1055)

Mayor Hazlehurst reaffirmed that elected members at the commencement of the triennium had declared “that they would faithfully and impartially, and according to the best of their skill and judgment, execute and perform, in the best interests of the Hastings District, powers, authorities, and duties vested on us by the Local Government Act 2002”.

Mayor Hazlehurst advised that at the request of elected members arrangements had been made for Ann Russell, Justice of the Peace to be present at the conclusion of the meeting to witness the signing of the voluntary declaration (CG-14-42-00049).

Extensive discussion took place with some amendments requested for the recommendation.

_______________________

The meeting adjourned at 9.55am to allow officers time to display

amended recommendation wording for consideration

and reconvened at 10.05am

_______________________

Mayor Hazlehurst/Councillor Schollum

A) That the Council receives the report titled “Investigation into the Unauthorised Disclosure of Confidential Information”.

B) That the Council receives the Declaration prepared as requested by Council and attached as Attachment 1 (CG-14-42-00049) in the report of (A) above.

C) That Council notes that the Chief Executive will conduct an internal review into the organisation’s operations (including staff) into the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.

D) That Council instructs the Chief Executive to include elected members within the scope of the investigation into the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information.

E) That the Council instruct the Chief Executive:

· to appoint and commission an independent and appropriately qualified person to investigate the Unauthorised Disclosure of Confidential Information from the Public Excluded Agenda Item “Drinking Water Capital Programme Update” in the Hastings District Council Meeting held in Hastings District Council Chambers on Tuesday 10 September 2019; and

· to agree the scope and process of the investigation in accordance with best practice. The investigations will be done in good faith and use natural justice principles.

· To investigate the unauthorised disclosure of information from internal “Councillor Only” meetings held on Thursday, 26 September 2019 and Friday, 27 September 2019.

F) That the Chief Executive report the investigation findings and recommendations back to Council at the conclusion of the investigation. The Chief Executive will provide interim progress reports to Council when requested.

CARRIED

Councillors Nixon and Dixon requested their vote AGAINST the Motion be recorded.

________________________

The meeting closed at 11.00am

Confirmed:

Chairman:

Date:

Hastings District Council

Lyndon Road East, Hastings 4156