Mayor says relationship with staff is 'frosty'
“Look, nobody likes to be put in a position at any organisation anywhere where they have to look at employee costs."
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark says his relationship with senior council staff is “frosty” following his strong public comments about the need to reduce personnel costs.
The council will soon ask for public feedback on a proposed 9.47% rate increase. However, Mayor Clark is advocating the rate rise be limited to 3.9%, in line with the Local Government inflation index.
Clark felt the biggest area of savings can be found by cutting personnel costs.
He wants the council’s contractor, consultant, and legal advice spending reduced from $4m to $1m.
He also wants the number of fulltime equivalent staff at the council reduced.
“That employee cost cluster has gone from $24m to $34m, which is $10m in five years.
“Staff will give you a million reasons why this has happened, but that’s what the audited financial report says. So that’s a significant increase.”
Clark said he tried to set up a meeting with the council’s senior executive team to outline his views before he went public with them.
However, that offer was declined, Clark said. He acknowledged he attempted to arrange the meeting at short notice, and staff said they were too busy.
It meant senior staff instead discovered the full extent of Mayor Clark’s strong views on personnel costs via the media.
“In good faith, I always have a promise to staff that there will be no surprises, and they had the chance to hear it from the horse’s mouth. I didn’t want to debate with them because it would go on forever.
“I just wanted them to be aware that this was a position I was taking.”
“Staff will say they are looking at organisational efficiencies - that was in a public excluded session [on Tuesday], so I can’t go into details of that.
“But that - by my assessment - was a very superficial look and lacked any specific details.”
Clark described his relationship with senior staff as “frosty” at the moment.
“The reaction I suspect is not good. I’ve got a bit of a standoff with them at the moment, as you could imagine.
“Look, nobody likes to be put in a position at any organisation anywhere where they have to look at employee costs,” Clark said.
During the public session of Tuesday’s meeting, Clark said he had sent a document to his fellow councillors outlining where he felt savings at the council could be made, most notably around employee costs.
Clark opted to leave council staff out of the loop when he shared that document.
“I have not tabled the paper with staff, it’s the first time ever. I’ve always been very open with the chief executive,” Clark told The Tribune after the meeting.
“[But] if I had tabled that paper [at the meeting] staff would have recommended to my colleagues that it goes into public excluded because it involves employee costs and it would make some people a bit uncomfortable.”
The Tribune has requested a copy of that emailed document from Clark - given it can be accessed via a Local Government Official Information Meetings Act request anyway.
Clark confirmed he would make the document available. However, he said he will withhold releasing it until a couple of days before public consultation starts for the Annual Plan to prompt people to submit on it.
He is urging the public to push back on the suggested 9.47% rate rise for the 2025-2026 Annual Plan and request the council instead opt for a 3.9% increase.
Mayor Clark added the increase was over 9% the last time it set the rates and is forecasted to be over 9% the following year.
He said three consecutive increases of over 9% stacked up on ratepayers who were already struggling - particularly those on fixed incomes.