$1m plus for Super City chief

Forget the Super Mayor, the most powerful person in the new Super City will be the chief executive, commanding a salary of more than $1 million, says a top lawyer.

The chief executive will control a $3 billion-plus budget, 6000 staff and $28 billion worth of assets - seven times the market capitalisation of Telecom.

Grant Hewison, a local government expert with law firm Kensington Swan, said the job would match that of chief executives of the largest local companies and Government departments.

He said while there had been a lot of attention on the role of the Super Mayor the most powerful role, as it is now, will be that of the chief executive.

"It is likely that the chief executive will command a salary of more than $1 million," Mr Hewison said.

Jarrod Moyle, of human resource consultants Sheffield, undertook a quick assessment of the role and came up with a total salary package of about $1 million.

Mr Moyle said because the job was unlike anything in the public sector it was difficult to draw comparisons. However, he did make the comparison with NZ Post where chief executive John Allen is paid $1,049,999 to manage 10,000 staff and revenue of $1.2 billion.

The chief executives of Auckland's seven territorial councils and one regional council earn between $200,000 and $470,000. Their total salaries come to about $3 million.

The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance said attracting and recruiting the right person would be crucial - "he or she will be an experienced change manager who has the skills to build a culture to fit the new focus of the Auckland Council".

Of the eight council chief executives, Auckland City's David Rankin, Manukau's Leigh Auton and Auckland Regional Council's Peter Winder would be the top contenders in terms of experience. Auckland Airport chief executive Simon Moutter has also been mentioned as a possibility.

At public hearings held by the royal commission, the chief executives came in for special attention for being the unelected de facto leaders of their councils, acting in an arrogant way, wasting money, paying ex-staff exorbitant fees as consultants and ignoring the wishes of people.

Waiheke Island resident Susan Pockett best summed up people's frustrations: "We are effectively ruled not by our democratically elected representatives, but by a bloated bureaucracy of unelected and unaccountable functionaries, with a culture of arrogant disregard for the will of the people."

Mr Hewison said the commission rejected the Government's structure of a super Auckland Council and 20 to 30 local boards because it was concerned not to create a monolith, unconnected to the people it serves.