Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt appeared to fall asleep during a council meeting on Wednesday.
Councillors were holding a meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss its legacy report and if it would be publicly released.
When the Mayor was asked for his vote, he didn't reply for nearly a minute.
A majority of the council supported the report being made public.
Sir Tim denied falling asleep when approached for comment by Newshub.
"I most certainly did not fall asleep," he said. "I was wary of responding further, having raised my concerns in opposition and I did not want to get trapped or further tangled debate or resolution as has happened before. My reasoning was better to say nothing than be led into a potential trap by the chair.
"The councillor sitting next to me should be able to attest to my conscious state."
Last year, the Mayor was clinging on to leadership. At a meeting in August, a confused Sir Tim bumbled his way through it and was unable to conduct council business.
Councillors said at the time they felt sorry for Sir Tim, who has been Invercargill Mayor since 1998, but said they were fed up.
An independent review in 2020 found Sir Tim was increasingly unable to carry out duties.
