EX -Hamilton Condeiro, Mark Donovan.
Photo: Supplied / LinkedIn
Former Hamilton counselor Mark Donovan, who came out last month after taking a full-time job at the end of last year, said it was never a controversial character.
“As I said, I’m the most vanilla counselor out there. I’m not controversial.”
Donovan resigned on March 5, from immediately, after assuming the position of National Sales Manager of the Tetra Pak packaging company in October.
At the time, Donovan told RNZ that the new position would not affect his ability to be a counselor.
On Thursday, the Hamilton City Council announced a remodeling of its committees to cover the gap left by the East Wing Counselor, president of three committee, including regulation and hearings.
As president, Donovan earned just under $ 100,000 per year.
He entered the advice after winning an election in 2021 and was reelected in the local government elections of 2022.
Donovan told RNZ that when he accepted his job with Tetra Pak, he thought he would be able to reconcile the two roles, but the personal circumstances and the demands of the work made it impossible.
He said he postponed his resignation until this year not to trigger an election because of the cost to taxpayers.
The renunciation did not automatically trigger an election through 12 months from the local government elections, which will take place in October this year.
Yesterday, the board announced that instead of maintaining an election, he would reorganize Donovan’s roles, which also included chair the traffic panel, speed limit, and road closing hearings, the dog control hearings panel and he was vice president of the Economic Development Committee.
An ex -president who has a passion for surfing, Donovan said his most pleasant role in the advice was like sports ambassador.
Minister of the Agenda Show meeting after Donovan took full -time employment, which elected members can do, their participation rate at the meeting fell.
There were 10 formal meetings from November 7 to December 12, of which Donovan was absent from four, including one of the committees he presided over, and was marked as partially three participating because he left early.
In February, he attended the first full board meeting of the year in Zoom, but left after two hours and 35 minutes. The meeting lasted another four hours and 42 minutes.
Later that month, he participated in the Strategic Growth Committee and District Plan, again by Zoom, leaving after 25 minutes.
The 54 -year -old told RNZ that he thought he had participated more and had actually joined a new committee.
He said he was pleased to be on the advice, but it was different from what he expected as an expert.
Donovan’s father started Hamilton’s Donovan’s chocolates in 1991 and he and his brother took control in 2004.
It is now owned by Prolife foods.
He told Facebook supporters that it had been an honor to serve the city.
“Sometimes the council cameras seemed a cricket field … For now, I will store the bat and pillows and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs to advance to the field.”
In a statement of March 5, Donovan said Hamilton has been at home for 30 years and remained committed to his well-being.
He told RNZ that he would encourage more people to run for advice, especially those with insight into business.
An official request from RNZ Information Act showed last year in 2023 Donovan Cost Ratepayers $ 5237 in expenses, including $ 3051 for “financial understanding” training, $ 1024 in air tariffs, $ 255 per mile and $ 179 in meals and beverage.
When asked about the cost, Donovan told RNZ that professional development was a standard practice in any organization.
Hamilton’s council said he decided not to fill the place left by his departure, instead, transferring papers among the counselors.
The board appointed Maria Huata as the new vice -president of the Economic Development Committee, Louise Hutt as president of the Regulation and Audience Committee, and Emma Pike as president of two audience panels – traffic, speed limit and road closure and dog control.
In addition, Hutt would join the Risk Committee and Strategic Resources.
The resignation has placed a higher workload on other counselors, however, the counselors receive additional compensation for any extra responsibilities attributed to them.
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