The Far North District Council is still saying nothing about the future of chief executive David Edmunds, despite discussing the issue behind closed doors last week.
Mr Edmunds is currently on 'temporary leave,' but it is not known whether he has taken leave voluntarily or has been stood down. Nodate has been advised for his return, while infrastructure manager David Penny has taken over as acting chief executive.
Efforts to contact Mr Edmunds have not been successful.
The public was excluded from Thursday's council meeting in Kaikohe within minutes of its 9am start, and were not re-admitted until after 11am, Mayor John Carter refusing to say what was discussed, or to make any comment on Mr Edmunds' future, although the agenda stated that executive performance would be discussed in public exclusion, to protect a person's privacy.
One possible bone of contention between Mr Carter and Mr Edmunds is the council's failure some years ago to impose a development contribution on Far North Land Ltd, whose shareholders included then Mayor Wayne Brown, when it constructed a building in Kaitaia for lease to Corrections.
The council explained that as an error on the part of a council employee, who mistakenly believed the building to be government-owned.
Mr Edmunds was reappointed to the chief executive role shortly before the October election for a further two years, or until his position disappears as a result of local government reform in Northland.
