3.5 Removal from office

  1. The mayor and councillors are voted in to office for a three-year term. They cannot be removed by Governing Body resolution, by the Local Government Commission, or by the Minister of Local Government [1] (or any other central government minister). However, the mayor or councillor will no longer hold office if they.
    • resign
    • die or become mentally incapable [2]
    • are absent without leave from four consecutive meetings (other than extraordinary meetings)
    • are disqualified from office. This occurs if the member:
      1. is convicted of voting or taking part in a council decision in which they have a financial interest (if the member does not successfully appeal the decision)contracts with the council and the value of the contract(s) is more than $25,000 in any one financial year
      2. no longer qualifies as an elector (i.e. is no longer a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident)
      3. is convicted of an offence punishable by two years or more imprisonment [3], (the two year timing reflects a policy decision to make sure that individual minor offences do not disqualify a Governing Body member).
  2. There will be a new election for a vacant position if a vacancy occurs more than 12 months before the next triennial general election [4]. This is referred to as a by- election. Depending on timing, there is the option that the role remains vacant, or a person is appointed without an election.

 

 

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