By Paul Williams of the Horowhenua Star
Is it morally acceptable for a Horowhenua councillor to serve the district while living overseas?
That’s the question Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden has put to councillor Rogan Boyle, who has been living overseas for the past four months and plans to spend the remainder of the term this year abroad.
Photo supplied.
Bernie says that often elected members give notification of impeding or prolonged absence, but Rogan hadn’t communicated his plans with him before leaving.
“He didn’t let me know he was leaving the country,” Bernie says.
While there is no rule that says an elected member can’t reside outside the district and Zoom into meetings, for the mayor the question is now an ethical one.
“It’s a principles and values conversation, for me” he says. “It’s a question the councillor has to ask himself, whether he can continue to do justice to the role.”
He has written to Rogan directly making his expectations clear.: “. . . as a mayor that considers the best interests of the whole district I cannot condone or endorse any councillor not being physically present in the district for an extended length of time.”
Bernie says the issue was discussed at a recent meeting where some elected members supported Rogan’s position, while others found the situation unacceptable.
“Some are supportive of you continuing to Zoom in as you have been doing, others are neutral and there are some who believe you should not continue while not being able to be present.”
Cr Sam Jennings says he told Rogan that “if I was in your shoes I would absolutely resign”.
Bernie put the onus on Rogan to decide whether ethically he could continue to serve as councillor while living abroad.
“. . . your future can only be determined by you. No-one can decide for you what that decision might be, but there were some views expressed that any decision should be made with wider constituent input.”
Elected members are elected, not contracted. They follow the code of conduct, standing orders, and the Local Government Act.
Council chief executive Monique Davidson says the Local Government (Official Information and Meetings) Act 1987 allows elected members to attend meetings remotely.
The council’s own standing orders say an elected member has the right to attend remotely with reasonable steps made to enable remote attendance if the technology is available.
Elected members are entitled to be paid until the day they leave office, die, are ousted, are absent for four consecutive meetings, or resign.
Rogan sent an email to council recently outlining his position.
“. . . please consider this email my official notification of my intention to continue attending council meetings remotely for the remainder of my term,” the email says. “Due to personal circumstances (within my control), I am not physically located in reasonable proximity for in-person attendance, but I remain fully committed to fulfilling my responsibilities as an elected representative.
“. . . I believe this matter should be considered by the full council rather than solely by you as chair, given the potential implications of declining this request. These implications may be inconsistent with the Local Government Act (LGA) and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA).
“During our workshop discussion, I received support from some members, while others raised concerns about my ability to engage effectively with the community remotely. I acknowledge those concerns and am open to finding ways to strengthen my engagement.
“However, for the majority of my term – now more than three-quarters complete – my primary modes of communication have been email, phone, and social media rather than in-person meetings.”
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