Email stoush: Mayor and councillor's working relationship is broken
“Sorry Nobby, I must say you are talking utter rubbish. I have spoken with the media, as you clearly see, and will now be taking my concerns to the ombudsman."
The non-existent working relationship between Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark and long-term councillor Ian Pottinger has again been laid bare, this time in a pointed email exchange.
Pottinger raised concerns with The Tribune this week about his struggles to get a breakdown from council staff on operational costs attached to the CCTV project.
The council has estimated operational costs at $1.3m over the next five years for its CCTV project, which Pottinger believed was too high.
Following the article Clark sent an email to The Tribune. He also copied in Pottinger, all other councillors, council CEO Michael Day, and the council’s project director Lee Butcher.
Clark was disappointed Pottinger had not talked to him before discussing the matter with The Tribune. He was surprised by Pottinger’s public comments.
“It is sad that Cr Pottinger has not formally raised his concerns with either myself or the chair of our Infrastructure and Projects Committee [Grant Dermody],” Clark wrote in the email.
“As the previous chair of that committee, he is experienced in how to resolve such concerns, in a manner that is transparent with the public.
“Attending that committee and raising concerns with the chair, via a late item, is by far the best way to hold management accountable,” Clark said.
When asked by The Tribune why he had not talked with the Mayor about the matter, Pottinger said: “He has got nothing to do with it. It was a simple question [to staff] and I just needed an answer.”
Pottinger went as far as suggesting Mayor Clark was “talking utter rubbish” in his email to The Tribune, which Pottinger had been copied into.
Help us continue to shine a light on Southland issues by becoming a paid supporter/subscriber of The Tribune.
Clark said he accepted Cr Pottinger had experience in the electronics sector.
He added it was on the record that Pottinger last year refuted the capital cost of installing the cameras and hardware, the operating costs ongoing, and the issue of licensing for data storage.
“When he raised the investment costs to install the CCTV, I supported him by authorising a review by an outside consultant that he recommended. Challenging the advice of management this way is not done lightly,” Clark said.
“The advice I received from that consultant was that the technology and costs were within range for the multiple CCTV projects he had been involved with.
“Cr Pottinger was privy to that independent advice.”
Pottinger fired back in response via email.
“Sorry Nobby, I must say you are talking utter rubbish. I have spoken with the media, as you clearly see, and will now be taking my concerns to the ombudsman. I truly am baffled as to why this is so hard to get an answer.”
The email exchange appeared to then continue without The Tribune.
It’s understood it included current infrastructure and projects committee chair Grant Dermody pointing out that the CCTV project sat with the committee that Pottinger once chaired, and during that time there had been little progress.
Mayor Clark rejigged the committees this year which included removing Pottinger as chair of the infrastructure committee and effectively replacing him with Dermody.
It’s understood Clark has raised questions as to whether Pottinger’s ongoing public statements may be partly related to Pottinger’s disappointment of being replaced as a committee chair.
It appears any attempts to mend the now non-existent relationship between fifth-term councillor Ian Pottinger and Mayor Clark have not gone anywhere.
Well done Pottinger, trying to keep everything transparent and above board, Clarke seems to always be disappointed they don’t go to him first so he can try to talk them out of it and cover it all up.
Mayor Clark is always causing controversy. Not long to wait now