Kent council voted against a motion to release all maintenance records of the Hammersley pump, to the Agassiz-Harrison Mills Drainage Committee. The motion was brought forward on Monday by council-committee liaison Dwayne Post.
Mayor John Van Laerhoven said that staff had been advised by their legal department to not release the records.
"Because of legal implications, all records should be kept confidential at this time," he said.
All councillors voted against the motion, including Post.
Council unanimously approved the minutes of the committee's September 4 meeting, approved a working group to deal with issues regarding access to properties and sidecasts remaining on farmland during annual drainage works, and agreed to write a letter to minister Keith Ashfield regarding the cleaning of engineered ditches in the writing of the new Fisheries Regulations and Water Act, with the aim of having a more streamlined approval process for annual maintenance.