The recently appointed Chief Executive, Janice Smith, of the South Wairarapa District Council might well be wondering if she has made the right decision in accepting her appointment.
SWDC mayor, Martin Connelly, said the council is pleased to have appointed Mrs Smith, who “has a proven track record of leading and managing in changing and challenging environments in senior management positions”. The mayor said he is confident Mrs Smith will be a good fit for the council and the South Wairarapa community.
Mrs Smith will be the most recent appointment in a fairly constant turnover of recent Chief Executives. There have been a growing number of council staff resignations, with a reported attrition rate of 22 percent and a rumoured settlement with the hasty departure of the previous Chief Executive.
Earlier this year two district councillors lodged a letter of complaint alleging that the mayor breached his duties under the council’s code of conduct by publicly criticising council employees with his comments in a newspaper article saying “the real issue here is that our officers did not start the annual plan process in good time”.
Councillors Martin Bosley and Alistair Plimmer said that it was in fact the mayor that was largely to blame for the rushed process as “almost four months were wasted in changing the committee structure” as directed by the mayor.
The councillors said that the Council had been repeatedly advised by senior staff of the risks such action would have on the annual planning process, but that concern was either overruled or ignored by the mayor. “By effectively now blaming the staff of causing the time pressures and subsequent effects, the mayor has sought to remove any blame from himself and his actions, in causing the very situation we have now found ourselves in.”
Somewhat unusually, an independent report was commissioned by senior management at the council for the Employers and Manufacturers Association to look into the issues outlined in the complaint. The Report conclude that the mayor had breached the council’s Code of Conduct and recommended that Mr Connelly publicly apologise to staff. The mayor has declined to do so.
More recently, all the district councillors took drastic action and held a unanimous vote of no confidence in the mayor last month.
The councillors have written an open letter to the mayor after the meeting, claiming the mayor had been dismissive towards some community members and absent from several important meetings. "We are writing to you collectively to express our concerns, voice our expectations, and provide advance consideration of potential actions should our expectations not be met," the councillors said.
As the mayor is elected by the district, the unanimous vote is largely symbolic. Nevertheless, the then Minister of Local Government said he was aware of the issues with the South Wairarapa District Council. He said the Department of Internal Affairs was the appropriate authority to provide support for the council at this stage and that “I have asked them to approach the council and talk to them”. He also said a no confidence vote in a mayor was unusual in New Zealand, but that the situation was not serious enough to warrant the dismissal of the council and the installation of a commissioner.
Local Government NZ has also been called in to advise on resolving the differences in the council. President Sam Broughton confirms that LGNZ is aware of the issues. "We are supporting South Wairarapa District Council to put effective governance structures in place to meet the community’s expectations.”
Mrs Smith, as Chief Executive, is the principal administrative officer of the district council and is appointed by the council. In business terms, the council is the governance body setting strategy and overseeing its implementation. The Chief Executive leads the management of the business, implementing the strategies to achieve the outcomes approved by the governance body. The council is the Chief Executive’s employer.
Typically, the Chief Executive works very closely with the mayor. Good faith and trust and confidence lie at the heart of the employment relationship. With the current divide between the mayor and the councillors, the new Chief Executive is going to have her work cut out just trying to get grips over whether she should follow instructions from the mayor or the councillors.
If Mrs Smith follows the mayor’s instructions she may find herself offside with the councillors and called to account by the majority. If she follows contrary instructions from the councillors, her working relationship with the mayor becomes untenable. If she follows neither faction, who will hold her to account?
Mrs Smith may indeed need to demonstrate all her skills in “leading and managing in changing and challenging environments”. While at present the situation has not become as publicised as the Gore District Council’s, it has the potential to do so. Read more....