Gisborne district councillor Bill Burdett, who lives near Ruatoria, claimed back $17,000 in mileage and travel time. Photo / Paul Rickard, The Gisborne Herald
Gisborne district councillor Bill Burdett, who lives near Ruatoria, claimed back $17,000 in mileage and travel time. Photo / Paul Rickard, The Gisborne Herald
By Alice Angeloni, Local Democracy Reporter
A rural councillor who travels two hours each way to attend council meetings in Gisborne has claimed $17,000 to cover mileage and time.
Councillor Bill Burdett, who lives near Ruatoria, made the largest "sensitive expenditure" claim of Gisborne district councillors and the Mayor —$11,082 for mileage and $5962 for travel time.
All up, Gisborne's elected members claimed $47,000 for sensitive expenditure in the financial year ending June 30, 2020.
The council's Audit and Risk Committee's independent chair Bruce Robertson said the spending looked "eminently suitable" and he had actually wondered why it wasn't more.
"It struck me as incredibly frugal," he said.
A report to the committee last week said most of the expenditure was for travel, with a high proportion being unavoidable costs like mileage claimed by councillors living in Ruatoria and Tolaga Bay.
Former Mayor Meng Foon, who resigned in August 2020, was reimbursed for a spend of $592 for travel, transport and training, and $2626 for entertainment.
Current Mayor Rehette Stoltz was covered for $8736 in travel, transport and training, and $748 for entertainment.
The report said the Mayor's expenses included airfares, accommodation and fuel costs together with registration costs to attend meetings, including the Local Government NZ conference.
Mayoral entertainment expenses covered meetings with local business networks, including CEO Regional Sector, The Gisborne Herald, Cruise Liner president, KiwiRail and hosting delegates from Tahiti.
Gisborne district councillors claimed $47,000 in the financial year ending June 30, 2020. Photo / Alice Angeloni, LDR
Of councillors, rural councillor Pat Seymour had the second-highest claim of $5939.
This covered $2904 for mileage, $526 for stationery and taxis and $573 for airfares and fees.
She claimed back $1936 on district licensing fees.
Josh Wharehinga was the third-highest claim of $2966, which covered a conference worth $1304 and airfares and fees of $1662.
Under the policy, councillors are not reimbursed for the first two hours of travel in one day but receive $37.50 for every hour that follows.
For a petrol or diesel vehicle, councillors can claim 79 cents per kilometre for the first 14,000 kilometres of travel during their term, and 30 cents per kilometre thereafter.
Mayor Stoltz said for three or four months of this time period they didn't go anywhere due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We also need to take into account that it is quite low because of Covid," she said.
Elected members costs of travel, transport and training:
Meredith Akuhata Brown $1,596 Sandra Faulkner $1,850 Larry Foster $1,921 Malcolm MacLean $392 Pat Seymour $5,941 Terry Sheldrake $439 Bill Burdett $17,045 Andy Cranston $274 Graeme Thomson $282 Brian Wilson $97 Kerry Worsnop $1,184 Tony Robinson $174 Debbie Gregory $184 Amber Dunn $66 Josh Wharehinga $2,967
