About the committees

Council & committee meetings

Council has five standing committees which report to the Council and a number of sub-committees. Minutes and agendas for the Council and Standing Committees can be found under Meeting Agendas and Minutes. Meeting times can be found under the Meeting Calendar. The Committees deal with governance and policy issues associated with the functions listed below.

Community Services Committee

Chairperson: Clr Stacey Scott

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Stu Piddington

Membership: All elected members

Meetings: Every six weeks

Functions:

  • Art Gallery
  • Community Awards
  • Community Development Initiatives
  • Community Liaison and Events
  • Community Grants and Loans (including Creative Communities (Local Arts) and Youth Initiatives)
  • Employment Initiatives
  • Forestry
  • International Relationships (Sister Cities)
  • Libraries
  • Monitoring and oversight matters related to the Safer Communities Committee
  • Museum
  • Parks and Reserves
  • Recreation and Sport
  • Swimming Pools
  • Tourism
  • Youth Engagement

Infrastructure Committee

Chairperson: Clr Sally Parker

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Gavin Oliver

Membership: All elected members

Meetings: Every six weeks

Functions:

  • Airport
  • Cemeteries
  • Forestry
  • Monitoring of Passenger Transport
  • Parking Areas / Buildings (provision)
  • Parks and Reserves
  • Roads, Bridges, Footpaths, Street Lighting, Road Naming, Street Trees and Gardens
  • Road Safety
  • Sewerage
  • Stormwater
  • Waste Minimisation
  • Water Supply

Hearings Committee

Chairperson: Mayor Nigel Bowen

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Peter Burt

Membership: Mayor or alternate Councillor & one available Councillor with appropriate RMA training

Meetings: As required

Functions:

  • Matters relating to hearing and making of decisions on resource consent applications, including joint hearings.
  • The making of recommendations on requirements for a designation or heritage order.
  • Consideration of any matter relating to applications or enforcement action referred to the Committee by the Regulatory Services Manager.
  • Matters relating to hearings under the provisions of the Dog Control Act 1996.
  • To review any objections to existing or proposed road encroachments and authority to make a final decision.

Commercial and Strategy Committee

Chairperson: Clr Peter Burt

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Alan Booth

Membership: All elected members

Meetings: Every six weeks

Functions:

  • Accounting (excluding the oversight of compliance with statutory obligations relating to financial responsibilities, which sits with the Audit and Risk Committee)
  • Budget, Annual Plan and Long Term Plan (LTP)
  • Economic Development
  • Electoral Matters
  • District Promotion
  • Finance, Investment and Debt
  • Halls
  • Housing
  • Information Systems
  • Insurance (referrals and recommendations from the Audit and Risk Committee)
  • Legal (excluding the oversight of legal risks, claims or proceedings to the extend this sits with the Audit and Risk Committee)
  • Motor Camps
  • Policy Co-ordination and Alignment
  • Property Management
  • Rating
  • Strategic Planning – Co-ordination, goals and achievement
  • Theatre Royal
  • Timaru District Holdings Limited (excluding appointments)

Environmental Services Committee

Chairperson: Clr Michelle Pye

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Owen Jackson

Membership: All elected members, Representative of tangata whenua

Meetings: Every six weeks

Functions:

  • Animal and Pest Control
  • Building Control
  • Civil Defence
  • Climate Change
  • Dangerous Goods
  • District Planning
  • Environmental Health
  • Forest and Rural Fire Control
  • Fresh Water
  • General Bylaws
  • Liquor Licensing
  • Litter Control
  • Parking Enforcement

Audit and Risk Committee

Chairperson: Bruce Robertson (External Appointee)

Deputy Chairperson: Clr Scott Shannon

Membership: Membership: The Mayor, Chairperson of the Commercial and Strategy Committee (Clr Peter Burt), Clr Scott Shannon, Clr Michelle Pye, Bruce Robertson (External Appointee) and Janice Frederic (External Appointee).

Meetings: 4 meetings per year

Functions:

  • liaise with external auditors, including review of the audit plan, and review of audit findings
  • review the Accounting Policies, Annual Report, the Audit Report, and be involved in any special audits or discussions with the appointed auditor on technical matters, and
  • review the internal audit programme and any internal audit findings; and
  • review Council’s insurance programme and make recommendations to Council and/or the Commercial and Strategy Committee in relation to renewals;
  • provide oversight of legal risks, claims or proceedings provided (excluding the approval of any legal settlements).
  • recommend the Annual Report to the Council for adoption, and
  • provide oversight of compliance with statutory responsibilities relating to financial responsibilities;
  • review risk including technical insurance matters and participation in national risk management practices, health and safety risk management and implementation of risk management processes, and
  • monitoring of corporate risk assessment and the internal controls instituted; and
  • note any strategic risk be referred to the Commercial and Strategy Committee.

Last updated: 07 Aug 2023