Tauranga City Council’s Commission has decided to initiate an application process for the role of Chief Executive, to provide greater certainty and continuity of executive leadership for the organisation, the community and next year’s incoming elected council.
Incumbent Chief Executive Marty Grenfell’s five-year term of appointment comes to an end on Sunday, 3 September, this year and while the Local Government Act allows the Commission to extend the appointment for a further two years, the Commissioners felt that such a short tenure could present unnecessary challenges for the wider Council organisation to deal with.
Commission Chair, Anne Tolley, says that a two-year appointment would have required the new Mayor and councillors to start an appointment process within nine months of being elected.
“Progressing the delivery of the many strategic, long-term projects in the Council’s work programme sufficiently within such a short timeframe would have been difficult and following consultation with Mr Grenfell, the Commission came to the conclusion that a five-year appointment would offer some significant advantages to the Council and the community,” she explains. “That requires us to implement a full application and appointment process, but it will mean the appointee will have the continuity of tenure required to get on with the job of implementing the 2024-34 long-term plan and significant programmes of work such as Te Manawataki o Te Papa.”
Anne says the decision in no way reflects on the performance of the current executive team. “We have full confidence in the capabilities and commitment of the Chief Executive. That said, we have to go into the appointment process with an open mind and give full consideration to the strengths of all applicants.”
Marty Grenfell says he is supportive of the process involved and intends to apply for the Chief Executive role.