Tauranga City Council's new chief executive has been called upon to "stabilise the ship" in challenging times.
Mayor Stuart Crosby reference to recent upheavals and controversy in the council took place during yesterday's official Maori welcome for Garry Poole.
The ceremony involved iwi and council representatives from the greater Wellington region and Taranaki, and leaders from Tauranga Moana's three iwi.
Mr Crosby said it was a mark of the man that Mr Poole's first two days at work would be mainly taken up with meeting the majority of staff.
He said there had been challenging times with the death of former CEO Ken Paterson and the restructuring of the council carried on by the interim CEO Leigh Auton. Mr Crosby asked Mr Poole to "stabilise the ship as we move forward".