A table listing the number of days where each councillor had either been on leave, had put in an apology before missing meetings, or had been absent without advising the council first, showed Cr Evans had not been present for nine days when he was not away on leave - also the poorest result of the council.
But Cr Evans dismissed the figures as being "incorrect", and claimed he was recorded for having missed meetings he wasn't required to attend.
He noted meetings of the council Tangata Whenua committee as an example. He disagreed that he should be marked as having missed three annual informal meetings with all members of the council and the Tangata Whenua collective.
Cr Evans further defended himself by pointing out a holiday he took last year - between September 7 and October 13, which worsened his overall attendance rate - was the only leave he had taken in three years. That holiday was organised nine months in advance to take place when the council schedule was lightest, he said.
The best attendance rates came from Deputy Mayor David Stewart and councillor Mike Baker, missing just two from 101 and 100 meetings respectively, both equalling a rate of 98 per cent.
The other results showed Rick Curach recording a 97 per cent rate, Murray Guy 96 per cent, Mayor Stuart Crosby, Bill Grainger and Greg Brownless 95 per cent each, Catherine Stewart 94 per cent, Bill Faulkner 91 per cent and Wayne Moultrie 90 per cent.
All council members are paid an annual salary, ranging between $109,000 for Mayor Crosby and $68,000 for Rick Curach, but there is no policy that councillors must attend a set number of meetings.
Council chief executive Stephen Town said the arrangement for councillors was "not like a job" and members were classed with Inland Revenue as being self-employed.
Mr Town said action might be taken when a councillor missed three meetings in a row without registering apologies, but he had not heard of that happening in New Zealand.
While there was no requirement to attend, Mr Town said it was true there was an expectation that councillors should attend.
Cr David Stewart said the council table was the "business end" of a councillor's duty.
"A councillor is elected to make decisions, and if they're not part of that decision making process, then they're not representing their community."
HOW THEY RANKED
1ST=Deputy Mayor David Stewart:
Missed two out of 101 meetings (98 per cent attendance rate)
1ST= Mike Baker:
Missed two out of 100 meetings (98 per cent attendance rate)
2ND Rick Curach:
Missed two out of 83 meetings (97 per cent attendance rate)
3RDMurray Guy:
Missed three out of 76 meetings (96 per cent attendance rate)
4TH=Greg Brownless:
Missed five out of 102 meetings (95 per cent attendance rate)
4TH=Bill Grainger:
Missed four out of 97 meetings (95 per cent attendance rate)
4TH=Mayor Stuart Crosby:
Missed four out of 83 meetings (95 per cent attendance rate)
5TH=Catherine Stewart:
Missed five out of 92 meetings (94 per cent attendance rate)
6TH=Bill Faulkner:
Missed seven out of 86 meetings (91 per cent attendance rate)
7TH=Wayne Moultrie:
Missed nine out of 98 meetings (90 per cent attendance rate)
8TH=Hayden Evans:
Missed 14 out of 79 meetings (82 per cent attendance rate)
NOTE: The non-attendance total accounts for meetings missed either because the member was on leave, had first registered an apology, was on council business elsewhere or did not attend without advising the council first.
Figures on a Tauranga City Council attendance record have been disputed by the councillor marked down as having the most no-shows - Hayden Evans.
The figures, provided by the council to the Bay of Plenty Times and revealing meetings attendance of all councillors between July 2009 and June 2010, showed Cr Evans as having missed 14 out of 79 meetings.
This amounted to an attendance rate of 82 per cent, the lowest of all councillors.
Councillor attendance records revealed
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