Tauranga City Council commission’s ‘generous’ remuneration plus expenses for 2022/23

Tauranga City Council commissioners (from left): Shadrach Rolleston, Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood and chairwoman Anne Tolley.

Tauranga ratepayers have paid the city’s four-person commission more than $914,000 for part-time work and expenses in the past year.

Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley describes the commission’s remuneration as “generous” but says it is “considerably less than a full elected council”.

Records of the four commissioners’ remuneration and expenses showed Tolley was paid $241,200 for 134 days’ work between July 2022 and June 2023, and claimed $34,850 in accommodation expenses.

Stephen Selwood was paid $198,750 for 132.5 days’ work and claimed $33,990 for accommodation and travel, plus $89.99 for mileage.

Shad Rolleston was paid $191,250 for 127.5 days’ work and Bill Wasley received $213,750 for 142.5 days’ work plus $690.60 in mileage and $359.86 in expenses covering rental cars, taxi fares, parking, meals and a gift.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta appointed the commission following a 2020 recommendation from a Review and Observer Team, who expressed concerns the elected council was too dysfunctional to deliver on the Long-Term Plan.

The commission’s term began on February 9, 2021. Remuneration - set by Mahuta at $1800 per day for the chairperson, and $1500 per day for each of the other commissioners - had not changed since.

All up, the commission was paid $914,920.45 in the year, including expenses and mileage totalling $69,970.45.

The remuneration figures did not include GST and withholding tax was deducted. Expenses claimed by the commission, which were GST-inclusive, were reimbursed.

Before the elected council was discharged, , councillors’ salaries were set at $105,628 to $144,078 a year depending on responsibilities, with the deputy mayor on $121,472 and mayor on $166,500.

The annual total was $1,272,422, plus expenses. Elected members took a temporary 5 per cent Covid reduction between July 2020 and January 2021.

Speaking on behalf of the commission, Tolley said that under its appointment terms she and Selwood - who were residing outside of Tauranga - were entitled to accommodation and transport expenses.

“Early on, we felt this was too onerous to claim hotel/motel accommodation and agreed to rent Tauranga property and claim an average cost based on three nights accommodation and fuels costs,” Tolley said.

An average rate of $750 a week was decided upon but at the start of this year, this was increased to $800 a week to reflect increased accommodation and fuel costs, she said.

Tauranga City Council commissioners Shadrach Rolleston (from left), Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood and chair Anne Tolley pictured at a community meeting in 2022. Photo / Talia Parker

Initially, Selwood was driving from Auckland and Tolley from Ōhope. Selwood later moved to Lake Hood, Canterbury.

Tolley said she and Selwood usually travelled to Tauranga on Sunday nights, returning home late on Wednesday or Thursday, Tolley said.

When commissioners travelled outside of Tauranga, they usually went in Wasley’s car and he claimed mileage for this, she said.

She said they also attended local government conferences and charged the council for flights, accommodation, meals, expenses and sometimes rental cars. They took opportunities to explore those locations, for example visiting sports complexes in Blenheim and Christchurch. They also visited New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Hamilton last year.

Tolley said the sole $44.82 gift expense was for outgoing Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Garry Webber from the commission.

Tolley said the commission generally worked Monday to Wednesday, 8am to 5pm with a 20-30 minute lunch “and on many occasions into the evening with public/local residents meetings”.

Occasionally commissioners were needed at Thursday or Friday meetings, such as those involving other authorities. They also checked in with staff on projects; held regular diary, media and communications discussions; monthly resident ”Commissioner Clinics”; pre-agenda meetings and council meetings; site visits; and official city visits such as meeting with the Auditor-General, Tolley said.

“Our days are filled with meetings.”

The commission also had two standing council committees - Strategy, Finance and Risk, and Tangata Whenua - plus a joint Public Transport Committee with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and subregional group SmartGrowth.

“We have each chaired a steering committee for an element of [civic precinct project] Te Manawataki o Te Papa to keep the scope, budget and delivery focused,” Tolley said.

“You will appreciate the addition of hours and hours of reading required for all these meetings - most of us spend a good portion of Sunday preparing for the week’s work...”

The commission’s expenses and remuneration costs from February 2020 to July 2023 totalled just under $2.55m.

In response to an Official Information Act request for other costs associated with the commission, such as support staff, council democracy services team leader Kath Norris said the commission did not employ staff other than the chief executive.

The chief executive’s office had a small support team which the commission used as well for services such as administrative, secretariat, and strategic advice.

Norris said the council could not provide costs specific to the commission for these roles “as these cannot be accurately apportioned”.

The commission’s Terms of Reference anticipated the weekly workload would be three to four days for the chairperson and up to three days for commissioners.

“The fees and expenses for the commissioners were estimated to be within the budget based on the elected members’ remuneration pool set by the Remuneration Authority and have been within this budget,” Norris said.

When appointing the commission, Mahuta said she planned to set the fees above the usual framework range due to the high-profile nature of the commissioner role, the level of expertise needed to deliver on the terms of reference and the time commitment required.

Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.