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Christel Yardley / Stuff
The confused Tauranga City Council has been told to wait for a commissioner to step in to run its affairs, announced local government minister Nanaia Mahuta.
The dysfunctional Tauranga City Council will have a designated commissioner to direct its affairs, the government announced.
Local government minister Nanaia Mahuta announced on Friday afternoon that the council had been informed of her intention to appoint a commissioner in response to “significant governance issues between … elected representatives and the findings of a review Independent”.
“I have been closely monitoring the conduct of the council for several months,” Mahuta said in a statement.
“I am increasingly concerned about governance issues and the impact this has on Tauranga taxpayers and significant investment in the region.”
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In recent years, the council has presided over a host of failed projects, budget blowouts, and delayed decisions.
High-profile mistakes in recent years include the $ 14.2 million purchase from the Bella Vista Homes debacle to the $ 19 million Harrington Street parking lot that had to be abandoned.
“The council had the opportunity to address the concerns, but has shown that more direct action is needed.” Mahuta said.
The Tauranga City Council now has 10 business days to respond to your letter of intent. Their response will be considered before a final decision is made, he said.
“For the taxpayers of Tauranga, I know that certainty is important. I look forward to making a decision quickly so that Tauranga can continue with its critical planning and investment. “
The city’s mayor, Tenby Powell, tendered his resignation late last month after an emotionally charged council meeting.
Things
Tauranga City Council Mayor Tenby Powell resigned at the end of November.
In announcing his departure, he asked for a commissioner to intervene.
Emails and texts provided following a request for the Official Information Act by Stuff revealed an increasingly toxic riot between Powell and councilors. The mayor was called “arrogant” and “narcissistic” by councilors, while others said they were fed up with the “conspiracy and intrigue” that takes place behind closed doors.
The messages also showed that Powell was concerned about threats to his family in what he called an effort to “kick him out of town.”
The level of dysfunction was exposed in a damning independent report, commissioned by CEO Marty Grenfell after a series of insults, annotations and a series of complaints about the code of conduct plagued councilors.
“An independent report, commissioned by the council, has found numerous governance problems,” Mahuta said at the time. “These problems include councilors having a limited understanding of their governance role and their elected representatives not recognizing that there are problems.”
Peter Winder chaired the Review and Observation Team (ROT) and reported that he has little confidence that councilors can change their attitudes, as for some the “election never ended”.
“There is a strong tendency to address political differences personally, attacking the people rather than attacking the essence of ideals,” he said.
“The current set of behaviors and the apparent lack of collective responsibility to deal with them is a major impediment to rebuilding trust in the council and a major distraction from the very serious business of ruling Tauranga.”
Winder said that if so much effort was put into actual governance that “scoring, code of conduct complaints and new problem solving through social media and print, the council would be progressing much better.”
Powell was not the first victim of the triennium, as Councilman Jako Abrie resigned in October and also publicly called for a commissioner to replace the embattled council.
More soon.
