Council recruiting new CEO

The Timaru District Council is on the hunt for a new chief executive as Bede Carran says he will not seek reappointment when his contract ends in December.

Carran, previously a chief executive of the Waimate District Council, started in the role in December 2016.

The council has posted an advertisement seeking a chief executive who will ‘‘lead their team with vision’’.

The advert for the role, with a salary of more than $300,000, said the council had a vision of ‘‘going places’’, and the mayor and councillors were looking to appoint someone with ‘‘a passion to do the absolute best for the ... people, communities and economy’’.

A candidate briefing attached to the advert said the vacancy arose as the contract with Carran would end on December 5, and he had ‘‘advised council that he will not be seeking a further term’’. It also said the position is ‘‘exposed to more than usual public scrutiny’’.

‘‘The actions, style and manner of the chief executive during all public contact must reflect professionalism, patience and tact.

‘‘Where public debate occurs it is the responsibility of the CE to foster informed public understanding by articulating and explaining policy decisions taken by the council. It is not the responsibility of the CE to answer for, or publicly defend the policy decisions of the council.’’

The advert said the position would serve a growing population across the Timaru District, with the council’s annual group revenues of more than $80 million, assets of $850m and 268 full-time equivalent staff.

While a background in local government was desirable, the council was happy to consider candidates with experience in other public or private sector organisations, but it was ‘‘critical for the CEO to reside in the district’’, it said.

Ideal candidates would be ‘‘well-rounded’’ and pragmatic,

holding a senior position either as an established chief executive seeking a new challenge, or an experienced senior executive looking to step up to a CEO leadership position, the advert said.

In June 2021, councillors voted to extend Carran’s contract for two years, effective from his December anniversary, taking him through until the end of 2023.

However, that decision was made amid some controversy, with not all councillors voting in favour of the extension.

Councillors held that discussion, scheduled to take place behind closed doors, in the open council meeting after councillor Stu Piddington shared advice of Local Government New Zealand that there was no reason to discuss it public excluded.

During that discussion, councillor Allan Booth questioned whether the democratic process had been followed, saying he had not been notified of a meeting when Carran’s performance was considered. His concerns were echoed by Piddington who said he also had not been invited to that meeting. Eventually, councillors voted to reappoint Carran, six votes to three.

Carran’s tenure included overseeing four restructures within five years with several senior managers leaving, the resignation of seven senior staffers from Timaru’s CBay aquatic centre in December 2022, and the council’s decision to purchase a gang pad at the centre of gang tensions in the town, and three other gang-linked properties.

Last September, Carran defended his council’s spend of almost $34m on consultants after it released figures to The Timaru Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. Those showed it had spent $33,994,388 on consultants between 2018 and 2022.

Six months later, in March 2023, mayor Nigel Bowen called for an urgent review, asking councillors to support him and Carran to conduct a review of expenditure on contractors and consultants.

Applications for the chief executive role close on June 25.