The Tauranga City Council administration building on Willow St. Photo / File
The Tauranga City Council administration building on Willow St. Photo / File
There were more "political shenanigans" at Tauranga City Council on Tuesday as fallout from its leadership struggle continued.
Events unfolded during a council meeting but with markedly less drama than the tumultuous last fortnight.
Councillor Larry Baldock resigned as deputy mayor on June 2, before a six-councillor majority couldforce him out.
An attempt by the six to depose the mayor-appointed replacement, Tina Salisbury, then failed on Friday after Councillor Kelvin Clout backed out and the majority was lost.
The six councillors had also been seeking reviews of elected member leadership appointments and remuneration, which were dealt with in Tuesday's meeting.
The council agreed to significantly flatten out councillor pay bands, leaving less of a gap between the salaries for those with committee leadership positions and those without.
This came after a debate about councillors' workloads.
Councillor John Robson. Photo / File
Councillor John Robson, who proposed the new structure on behalf of the six, said all councillors contributed in different ways.
He said a risk of the existing "steep" structure was that any shifts in positions could be "seen as frightfully fiscally punitive".
First-term councillor Dawn Kiddie was among those who backed the change, saying she was "really uncomfortable" being paid more than "long-standing" councillors.
The Remuneration Authority sets the mayor's salary ($166,500) and gives the council a remuneration pool for councillors, which the council decides how to allocate.
Under the structure decided at the beginning of this council term, the gap between, for example, the deputy mayor and a councillor given no committee leadership positions was $43,312.
The new arrangement - still to be confirmed by the authority - would lessen that gap to $15,844.
The new minimum councillor salary will be $105,628, up from $96,251. Councillors who are appointed to chair standing committees or as deputies, however, would generally take a pay cut.
Councillor Larry Baldock. Photo / File
Baldock took the biggest cut of $25,485 for a new salary of $114,078 after resigning the deputy mayor's role but retaining his committee chairman position.
New deputy mayor Tina Salisbury will have the biggest salary jump of $12,709 to $121,472. She said she stood to serve the community, not because of the money.
The second biggest would go to Robson, who was appointed deputy chairman of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and will make an extra $11,489.
He said he would donate the difference between his new salary and the base councillor salary to charity.
All councillors will now make more than $100,000 and therefore be eligible for an up to 20 per cent, six-month pay cut - in solidarity with Covid-19 job losses - following a law change in May.
Powell said he would donate his cut to the mayoral homelessness taskforce.
Councillor Kelvin Clout. Photo / File
Baldock and Clout - both former deputy mayors - argued unsuccessfully for a less drastic flattening of the scale, saying the additional work of the deputy position especially needed to be recognised.
Baldock was earlier the lone voice of opposition to a proposal to appoint Robson to Western Bay sub-regional joint committee Smartgrowth.
The council has three representatives on Smartgrowth: mayor Tenby Powell, Baldock, and Clout, who resigned from his spot and backed Robson as his replacement.
Baldock said in the meeting that appointing Robson would break with the tradition of appointing the mayor and deputy. He also had concerns about Robson's "long speeches" and votes in previous Smartgrowth meetings, and recent opposition to Crown ministers joining the committee.
Baldock read out a section of an email Clout sent to Baldock and Powell on May 29, backing Robson for deputy mayor and for the Smartgrowth role.
Councillor Dawn Kiddie. Photo / File
Clout wrote of a "commitment" he said Robson gave him to engage reasonably and respectfully and vote according to council mandate on Smartgrowth.
Baldock asked Robson to retract statements made on May 5 about having ministers join Smartgrowth.
Robson declined to reply, but several other members made statements backing him for the role, including Powell.
Steve Morris said elected officials needed to avoid "react[ing] to alternate views as though they are going to cause the end of Western democracy as we know it".
Clout said he was "more than happy to step aside" for Robson.
Councillor Jako Abrie - not one of the six - said he was pleasantly surprised that "background conversations" had led to finding some common ground.
"Political shenanigans like who is in what position are a little bit important but compared to things like our housing crisis, it's not what we need to be focusing on."
Councillor Jako Abrie. Photo / File
Councillor pay changes
Who's up and who's taking a cut after salary changes that follow position changes and an agreed new remuneration schedule at Tauranga City Council.
Pay cuts
Jako Abrie: -$1023 Larry Baldock: -$25,485 Kelvin Clout: -$7198 Heidi Hughes: -$1023 Dawn Kiddie: -$1023 Steve Morris: -$7198
Pay rises
Andrew Hollis: $9377 John Robson: $11,489 Tina Salisbury: $12,709 Bill Grainger: $9377
- Based on data sourced from Tauranga City Council
