Tauranga City Council acting mayor Tina Salisbury. Photo / File
Tauranga City Council acting mayor Tina Salisbury. Photo / File
Tauranga's newly appointed city commissioners are highly skilled people who bring a diverse experience to a diverse city, says acting mayor Tina Salisbury.
But the move to replace the city's councillors has one former councillor wondering when democracy will return.
The four-person commission was appointed by Local Government Minister NanaiaMahuta on Tuesday.
Former long-serving East Coast MP Anne Tolley, 67, will chair the commission that replaces Tauranga's City councillors and will be joined by Tauranga locals Bill Wasley, 64, and Shadrach Rolleston, 47, as well as Aucklander Stephen Selwood, 64.
Their term will begin next Tuesday, and end after the next local body elections in 2022, although this could be extended.
Commission chairwoman and former National MP Anne Tolley. Photo / File
The portfolio of skills and experience were acknowledged by city leaders with an emphasis on the importance that the community and groups are engaged throughout their term.
Acting mayor Tina Salisbury said while the commissioners were not accountable to residents and ratepayers in the same way as elected members were, "voting a certain way because we are afraid of being voted out in the next election is not good decision-making practice at the best of times".
"Elected members should be focused on high-level vision and strategy, policy, procedures, monitoring risk, and good financial practice, while taking on board and representing the needs and priorities of our community."
The same Local Government Act would need to be abided by, she said, and she trusted the commissioners would consult the community over rates while finding alternative funding and financing options.
Stephen Selwood, left, Shadrach Rolleston, Anne Tolley and Bill Wasley the four-strong commission to lead the troubled Tauranga City Council.
She said the commissioners were highly skilled people who brought a diverse experience to a diverse city.
"Yes, they have been given a mandate to deliver this Long-term Plan and an indication that rates will need to go up, but rate increases alone is not a sustainable solution to the challenges our city faces."
It was known that rates would be significantly raised this year, some of which was to cover the temporary reductions in expenses last year which brought some relief from the impacts of the pandemic, she said.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said he believed it would be important the commissioners used forums such as Socialink, iwi, ratepayer associations, mainstreets, and the chamber to engage with the community.
The chamber was advising businesses to be prepared to invest so the city could address the traffic and housing challenges, he said.
Other challenges he noted were infrastructure, finance, and rebuilding community trust.
He said in his opinion it was, "hard work for 11 elected members to engage with the city the size of Tauranga, let alone having just four commissioners".
Councillor Kelvin Clout said he believed the better option would have been appointing a Crown Manager, "which is what council asked for, twice" to keep local democracy and decision making.
He was sceptical of when democracy would return, and said, in his view, that it was "unlikely that central government will want to give up control of one of New Zealand's most pivotal cities after only 20 months".
Clout said the commissioners were "top-quality people with excellent experience and appropriate skills" and he would work with them as required.
Tauranga City Council councillor Kelvin Clout. Photo / File
He hoped they would bring a lot of money from central government because it was "untenable" that ratepayers fully funded the infrastructure investment required to fulfil central government's urban growth agenda.
He said it would be important that networks of community representation were established.
Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless said he was "concerned" about the "loss of democracy," and believed the commissioners would make big decisions about housing and density.
He believed the commissioners were "good people" who brought a variety of perspectives and skills but in his view it was "quite serious" that residents had lost the ability to vote.
Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless. Photo / File
He hoped rates affordability would be kept in mind, there would be no venturing into areas that were not council responsibility, and the Government was held to account.
"To me, it's still a shame what happened to our mayor, and city, and council," he said.
After the announcement, Tauranga National MP Simon Bridges took to Twitter, calling the Labour Party "shrewd" with the hashtag "cunning bastards".
"They know I hate a Commission in Tauranga so they appoint my close colleague Anne Tolley as Chair," the Tweet read.
I have to hand it to Labour, they are nothing if not shrewd. They know I hate a Commission in Tauranga so they appoint my close colleague Anne Tolley as Chair. #cunningbastards
Bridges told the Bay of Plenty Times that the post meant "exactly what it said" and did not provide further comment
In a media statement, the Taxpayers Union urged a "caretaker mode" was adopted before elected governance can be re-established.
"Tauranga's rates are already among the highest in the country – 12th out of 66 territorial authorities, or fifth for commercial rates," executive director Jordan Williams said.
