Latinovic loudly raised his opposition to that adjournment by the mayor.
The second part of the complaint related to the deferred meeting in March, where Latinovic accused the chief financial officer of “creative accounting”.
Both the mayor and Latinovic declared their conflicts of interest and excused themselves from last week’s proceedings, leaving deputy mayor Maria Te Kanawa to chair the hui and Rotorua Lakes councillor Robert Lee to speak on Latinovic’s behalf. Latinovic left his chair and sat in the public gallery.
‘Natural justice’ via social media
“We will not be participating in a sham. Good afternoon,” Rotorua councillor Robert Lee said. Photo / Laura Smith
Lee requested sufficient time to present a PowerPoint presentation in Latinovic’s defence.
Te Kanawa denied the request, giving Lee 15 minutes to speak to the investigator’s report.
He contended time was needed to fulfil his role in mounting a decent defence on Latinovic’s behalf.
The seriousness of the allegations, along with the potential to be, “… named and shamed publicly, let’s say defamed,” was how Lee framed his request.
Te Kanawa replied, “Councillor Latinovic has had natural justice by going through that [investigative] process. He had also had natural justice by expressing his concerns on social media.”
She reiterated that Latinovic’s sentiments were public knowledge.
‘We will not be participating in a sham. Good afternoon’
The refusal to conduct a defence caused Robert Lee to call out the proceedings and to walk out.
Lee said they would not bother mounting a defence “if this meeting is going to be a sham”.
The deputy mayor then asked Lee if he would use the 15 minutes allotted to him, to which he replied: “We will not be participating in a sham. Good afternoon.”
Then Lee, Latinovic and his supporters walked out.
‘English is not his first language’
Putāruru Ward Councillor Dave Shaw. Photo / South Waikato District Council.
Fellow Putāruru Ward councillor Dave Shaw then advocated for Latinovic, calling him a friend, saying he knew him, “…better than most people in this room.”
“It’s important to understand the back story today, behind these events.”
In regard to the first complaint, Shaw said:
“We [Shaw and Latinovic] honestly felt that (Standing Order) 12.4 allowed Mr Simpson the right to film. And that the mayor would be unable to force Mr Simpson to stop.”
Shaw said when the public attending the February hui began to become abusive, Latinovic intervened, calling on the attendees to calm down.
Furthermore, he stated that there was video evidence that “exonerated Zed from yelling or being abusive at the meeting”.
“That is the man that I know!”
Shaw continued to defend his “best friend”, saying that English was Latinovic’s third language. He explained Latinovic’s choice of words to the chief financial officer was unfortunate and a correction had been made.
“I’ve had to help him from time to time to help him find the right word in English.”
“It is clear to me that Zed means no harm, but rather the opposite.”
Latinovic ‘did not fully understand’
Tokoroa Ward councillor Josiah Teokotai raised a motion that formed the core of Latinovic’s censure.
He said elected members should have the utmost concern about any complaints raised by council staff.
Latinovic’s behaviour was “… destructive of the critical trust between staff and elected members”.
Teokotai said this impeded the council’s ability to do its best for the community.
He had formed the opinion that Latinovic didn’t understand “much of the technical information that comes before us as a council”.
Teokotai noted it was the finding of the investigation that Latinovic’s lack of understanding contributed to his behaviour towards council staff.
Latinovic told Local Democracy Reporting in a statement yesterday that, in his view, the council’s decision wasn’t reached through a fair process and he refused to accept their censure.
“I remain approachable and willing to participate in constructive discussion if [the] council is genuinely willing to take that opportunity.”
What the investigation report says
Hill’s report notes the complaint was made by the council’s chief executive on behalf of council staff.
Latinovic provided a comprehensive written response to her questions, followed later by a 52-page response.
In the report, Hill said she found two breaches of the code of conduct. The initial breach, at the year’s first council meeting, was at the low to moderate end, while the incident in March was moderate to serious.
She did not consider it warranted one of the more serious penalties under the code such as removal of responsibilities.
She noted the expense to ratepayers of such processes, though said in this instance the complaint was “properly raised”.
The council’s censure means Latinovic is required to go through a range of remedial actions including a written apology to council staff, further training and mentoring on his duties, council procedures and conduct as councillor.
Bronson Perich is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist for Taupō and South Waikato based at the Waikato Herald.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.