An Invercargill councillor felt a new report from council which showed elected members’ attendance was "a bit schoolboyish".
Invercargill City Council governance and legal manager Michael Morris presented to elected members during a council meeting this week the report, Attendance Register — Elected and Appointed Members, which records the attendance of members at meetings and workshops.
He said it was the first time the document was presented to the council and it was created in response to regular Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act requests made by the media.
"[The media] said it is a way to hold elected members and appointed members to account."
Mayor Nobby Clark said he felt a bit uneasy with the nature of the report as it seemed to him like a kind of microscopic exercise.
"When we first start in our council ... we talked at length about the quality you put into council as elected member, not on how often you attend meetings."
He was worried the report would affect members who had family or full-time jobs.
Cr Allan Arnold agreed — while he understood the need to have the information recorded, he did not think it was something that needed to be published on a regular basis just to show who was there, he said.
"I see this like a bit schoolboyish."
He said elected members were held accountable every three years at elections and people should focus more on decision-making input.
"We are here to do a job, so I don’t think you need something like this.
"To me it looks a bit childish in some aspects."
Cr Lesley Soper said she believed the report was beneficial for them and if any correction was needed it could be fixed in a timely manner.
"I think it is a necessary part of a council to keep it and I think it is a good idea to not hear about two or three years after the event."
Mr Morris said he welcomed councillors’ feedback and would continue to present the quarterly attendance reports but would not publicise them on the website, as originally suggested.
