Mark Groos is considering 'putting together a team of 10 to stand in the forthcoming local body elections”. This is the same Mark Groos who was one of three TECT trustees that wasted more than $100,000 of our community's money last year on a referendum which overwhelmingly decided what most of us knew all along - things were fine just the way they were!
The TECT constitution says trustees cannot simultaneously serve as a local or central government representative, or be an employee of TrustPower – for conflict of interest reasons.
Mark should be aware of this – if he isn't, he shouldn't be a TECT trustee right now because he clearly doesn't understand his responsibilities.
Mark has two years to go before he comes up for re-election for his trustee role at TECT. That means that should he get elected to Tauranga City Council, he would then either have to resign from that, or from TECT. As I understand things, being a councillor pays around $10,000 more per annum than being a TECT trustee does (ignoring the additional cost of the hopefully one-off 'educational) trip to Australia that Mark and his two cohorts enjoyed at our expense), so guess which way that will go!
The local community should not have to bear the cost of another TECT trustee election (or alternatively a council by-election) just so that Mark can further line his pockets from the public trough.
If Mark's does intend to stand for council he should have had the intestinal fortitude and confidence in himself to resign from TECT prior to the recent Trustee election, so that we could save the cost of another potential election so soon afterwards.
Take note people and don't have a bar of Mark Groos' Council, or his bedmates for that matter. Given her recent dumping in the TECT election, his team is highly likely to include Frances Denz, who with Ron Scott was one of the other contributors to last year's TECT referendum debacle.
Graeme Purches, Sterling Gate.