New Tauranga City Council commissioners could earn more than double the standard Government rate

From left to right, Stephen Selwood, Shadrach Rolleston, Anne Tolley and Bill Wasley: the four-strong commission appointed to lead troubled Tauranga City Council. Photos / File

Commissioners appointed to lead Tauranga City Council could be paid more than double the standard rate set by the Government.

From Tuesday, governance of the council will be transferred from the eight remaining elected councillors to four commissioners appointed by Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

Former National MP Anne Tolley, who is also a former Napier deputy mayor, will chair the commission, joined by Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood and Shadrach Rolleston.

The appointments were announced last week after Cabinet confirmed them.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) yesterday released internal documents about the appointment process.

A Cabinet paper shows Tolley to be paid up to $1,800 a day for her work, and for the commissioners to be paid up to $1,500 a day.

Under the Cabinet fees framework, the chair for this type of group would normally be paid between $390 and $885 a day, while the members would get $290 to $560 a day.

The minister proposed to set the fees above the framework range due to the high-profile nature of the commissioner role, the level of expertise needed to deliver on the terms of reference and the time commitment required, according to the paper.

Their fees will be paid from the Tauranga City Council's ratepayer-funded coffers. The council has confirmed this will come from a remuneration pool set aside to pay elected members.

Eight of 11 members remain following three resignations in four months, including former mayor Tenby Powell.

The term of the commission will run until just after the next local government election in 2022 but could be extended.

The commissioners are expected to work part-time, according to time commitment estimates described in the terms of reference.

Initially this would be three or four days a week for Tolley and two or three days a week for the other commissioners, while they work to produce the council's 10-year planning and budgeting document, the Long-Term Plan 2021-31, before June 30.

This will include setting the rates for 2021-22.

After that, the workload was expected to drop to one or two days a week.

Tolley will be responsible for ensuring any expenses claimed by the commissioners are reasonable.

In the elected council, councillors were on salaries of between $105,628 and $144,078 a year, with the deputy mayor on $121,472 and mayor on $166,500. Members took a temporary five per cent reduction after Covid.

The Remuneration Authority determines the amount for the pool of funds for elected member salaries at the beginning of this council term, and the council decided how to divide it up. The authority's determination only applies to elected members.

The documents released by the DIA also revealed appointing as few as three or as many as five or more commissioners was considered, and the number of commissioners could rise or fall during the term if necessary.

Ten candidates were shortlisted.