WCC chief executive Kevin Lavery will leave the council early next year. Photo / Supplied.
WCC chief executive Kevin Lavery will leave the council early next year. Photo / Supplied.
Wellington City Council's chief executive has resigned but he's not leaving behind any ill will.
Kevin Lavery has been the council's boss since 2013 after arriving from Cornwall, England.
"I have very much enjoyed my time leading one of the world's best local authorities in one of the world's greatest cities. I have made this decision after careful thought", he said.
Celia Wade-Brown was in the middle of her two-term mayoralty when Lavery started the job.
Her reign became associated with a toxic culture by the time the 2016 election rolled around.
"When I arrived, attrition was around 35 per cent, sick leave was high, morale was low and there was significant tension throughout the organisation", Lavery said.
Despite saying this, Lavery insisted he has never recognised a "toxic" culture in the council.
"We did have some issues at the last election where there were allegations of a toxic culture but that was really about a very competitive election."
Wade-Brown presided over a council that was often split with big decisions ending in a 8 to 7 vote.
Justin Lester's reign has been very different to his predecessor. Photo / Mark Mitchell
When then deputy mayor Justin Lester took over as mayor, Lavery said he had to adjust his style to suit him.
"He's a very media friendly mayor and I took a step back … probably when I get in the news it's usually when there's a bad news story around an operational matter that's gone wrong and that's the nature of the job."
Lester also had a clear manifesto about what he wanted to do, like housing.
Lavery changed priorities to accommodate the role council would play like working with developers on apartment conversions.
When asked whether he had a strained relationship with Lester, Lavery said he did not.
"I think we work pretty well together. We don't agree on everything, I think it would be pretty unhealthy if we did", he said.
Unlike Wade-Brown's council, Lester's has proven to be very different in that it's cohesive, Lavery said.
Apart from a few years in California, Lavery didn't have much experience with earthquakes before moving to Wellington. Housing and transport were more his areas of expertise.
But the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake made for a crash course in all things seismic.
Lavery said he was proud of the council's swift and decisive response to the "crisis" and resulting work with Wellington Water and Wellington Electricity to make the city safer.
"But there's no question we're still trying to understand the full impact of Kaikoura, you know as well as I do that's meant a major investment programme for us as a city."
The Kaikoura Earthquake was a wake-up call for the city. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Lavery didn't mince words on that subject in his pre-election report released in July.
He said financing and resourcing issues kept him awake at night.
The council needed to take a good look at its priorities and reconsider its funding options, because difficult projects were only getting bigger and more complex, he said.
The last triennium is one marked with earthquake-strengthening projects and division over the city's biggest transport investment in decades.
When asked whether Lavery was frustrated with a lack of progress in the city, he said he was not.
But in the same breath he advocated for action.
"We've got to get on and deliver some of the opportunities that are before us for sure. I think Wellingtonians wouldn't thank us if we endlessly debated transport issues. I think they want to see some delivery on the ground."
Asked for one piece of advice to the incoming chief executive, Lavery said "be true to yourself, be authentic, and I think they'll need to be a good collaborator".
