Councillor Catherine Stewart has challenged Tauranga City Council after accusing the authority of making decisions behind closed doors without public knowledge.

Catherine revealed this week that a three-year extension to Creative Tauranga's funding agreement was arranged and signed off without the renewal being voted on at a council meeting.

A pop-up park painting by artists arranged through Creative Tauranga. Photo: File.

Under questioning at a meeting earlier this week, strategy group general manager Christine Jones said the agreement was made under delegation after the budget was approved in an informal discussion with councillors.

'We don't normally bring individual contracts to council for approval when we can do it under delegation,” says Christine.

However, Catherine asked: 'Was Creative Tauranga solvent at the time the agreement was signed?”

Christine responded by saying: 'I don't' think financial matters should be discussed in public. Those are the financial records of a trust that isn't council owned.”

A suggestion that acting Creative Tauranga chair Marcus Wilkins or acting general manager Jennifer Pearson should answer the questions was greeted with silence from the pair.

Catherine insists that city councillors' briefings and workshops are meant to be information only.

'But at one of the briefings, a decision was made to give Creative Tauranga a three year contract,” she says.

'I was just raising my concern that it was done at a briefing. It should have gone to a meeting to be discussed.

'Some of these briefings are starting to turn into decision making processes and the idea of it is information only. Yet we are being asked for straw polls, and you could argue that is decision making.

'It's time we reviewed the way theses briefings and workshops are carried out, and perhaps put some criteria around what should go into a briefing and what should go into a workshop. Should some of it be in the open and what, if anything, needs to be confidential?”

During three years under the previous council, 90 per cent of workshops were open door affairs that could be attended by the public, says Catherine.

'But a majority of elected members decided the workshops would be closed. I think it's time elected members reviewed that, and put some criteria around what constitutes a briefing or a workshop and what should remain confidential or open to the public.”

Catherine missed the August workshop/briefing where the Creative Tauranga contract was renewed, and she believes a couple of other elected members were absent as well.

'So, much to my surprise, a new contract has been drawn up and signed for three years, and agreed to at a briefing. That was my concern.”

Catherine asked if Creative Tauranga was solvent at the time the contract was renewed because there have been concerns about some of the finances over the last few years.

'Was Creative Tauranga solvent at the time the agreement was signed?” she asks. 'I don't know the answer to that.

'But basically we are reviewing the arts, so now that's been signed, Creative Tauranga is doing its own informal research into what people think of Creative Tauranga. There's an online survey.”

The six-monthly report presented at this week's meeting shows the new agreement is in force until 2018, and guarantees Creative Tauranga an annual ratepayer funded income of $289,303, plus GST and inflation.

The six-month monitoring report is for the 2014/15 agreement and provides an update on work undertaken over the last six months. The next report is due in March/April 2016.

Figures contained in the agenda shows TEL ($5000) and Western Bay of Plenty District Council ($50,320) also contributed to Creative Tauranga's income.

The total income for the year ending March 31, 2015, was $422,612, and the total expenses were $444,995, leaving a $22,383 deficit. Wages and salaries were $259,489.

As at October 31, total income was $225,531, and operating expenses were $226,559. This represents a deficit of $1,028. The balance sheet shows total equity as at October 31 is $32,491.