Far North Mayor Wayne Brown is defending a decision to rehire chief executive David Edmunds shortly before an election, despite the huge cost of getting rid of a previous chief executive.
Councillors voted at their August meeting to appoint Mr Edmunds for another two years or until the current Far North District Council is dissolved, a likely outcome of the current local government reforms.
Mr Brown said the contract carried a proviso the chief executive would not get a payout if the district council was wound up as a result of the reforms.
The decision to retain Mr Edmunds was made because the council could be scrapped as early as 2014 and there was no way good candidates would apply for a job that could last just a year, he said.
"Which decent CEO wants to apply for a job that might run out in a year's time? This way, the incoming council will have someone who knows more or less what he's doing until a decision is made [on the future of local government in Northland]."