A decision by the Gore District Council to keep controversial chief executive Stephen Parry in his job for the interim appears to have been made in a matter of hours, minutes from a council meeting show.
In addition, Gore mayor Ben Bell asked several times for more time to consider options for a replacement, but other councillors shut him down.
The decision to keep Parry on led to a protest and petition by ratepayers.
Minutes from an in-committee meeting held on October 10, requested by Stuff under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, show that despite the council’s efforts to put on a united front in September, divisions remained around the council table.
One councillor at the meeting said “everyone was walking on eggshells’’.
Parry had announced his resignation as the council’s chief executive on September 4 and was due to leave the council at the end of October.
Just over a month later, on October 10, the council’s general manager of community lifestyle services, Rex Capil, who had at times been acting chief executive, also announced his resignation.
On the same day, the council met in committee to discuss appointing an interim chief executive until a replacement could be recruited.
The minutes show that a report written by Parry, discussing the appointment, was tabled at the meeting.
Robyn Edie/Stuff
Rex Capil: Previous interim appointments showed external ones were “a waste of time”. (File photo)
Bell appealed to councillors several times to delay their decision until a meeting in two days’ time, but he was shut down by deputy mayor Keith Hovell, and later by councillor Bronwyn Reid.
After Parry left the meeting because of a conflict of interest, councillor Joe Stringer asked if there was anyone else in the senior management team who could “step up”.
In reply, Hovell said the council “could not assume that”.
Councillor Richard McPhail said one of the most important things was to “steady the ship”, and Parry was prepared to step into a transitional role.
There would be a lot of people looking at the council if the recruitment process was not managed correctly, he said.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Ben Bell, 24, looks back on his first year as the mayor of Gore.
Reid had prepared some recommendations that were circulated at the meeting.
She moved that the council employed Parry as interim chief executive and suggested the council would be subject to risks if no leadership was provided.
Councillor Robert McKenzie asked if councillors realised how such a decision would appear to the public and said the council “could not go down this path”.
It was necessary to get an outsider as a temporary chief executive, and he would not support any other solution. He had nothing against Parry, but it was a “bad road to travel”.
“What would the public say?” he asked, noting that there had already been a petition earlier in the year calling for Parry’s resignation.
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Councillor Bronwyn Reid prepared recommendations that were circulated at the meeting. (File photo)
Councillor Andy Fraser said “everyone was walking on eggshells” and he supported the motion.
He said the press was “ill-informed” and the council had left Parry out to dry. Parry had been apologised to, he said.
Bell said he was happy to provide comment, but he needed the council staff to leave the meeting so he could do so. He said councillors could not have an open and honest conversation if staff remained.
It is unclear from the minutes what Bell was referring to.
Capil asked what Bell knew that was confidential that the council did not.
Bell then said the council should not make a decision quickly and should consider what the media would say about the situation.
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Councillor Robert McKenzie, right, said he had nothing against Parry, but it was a “bad road to travel”. (File photo)
Richard McPhail said he would not be dictated to by the media or the public on how he made a decision.
Capil said his experience of past interim appointments at the council showed external appointments were “a waste of time”.
There was no-one better than Parry for the role, and the entire staff supported him, he said.
The council’s general manager of people and culture, Nicky Cooper, said the fear was that hiring someone new in the interim would require time to get them settled in, and this would leave a “frazzled” senior management team.
Reid asked: Considering what Parry had faced in the community, why was Bell worried about his workload?
Kavinda Kerath/Stuff
Gore District councillor Richard McPhail said his view would not be dictated by the media or public perception.
In reply, Bell said Parry had noted in his resignation letter that he wanted to step back and spend more time with his family.
Bell said the public would cause an “awful situation for him [Parry] if he remained” and he did not want that for him. Putting him back into the role would cause “more unrest”.
Councillor Glenys Dickson said Parry agreeing to become interim chief executive proved he cared about the council and community.
The motion to appoint Parry as interim chief executive was carried, but Bell, Stringer and McKenzie voted against it.
Hovell, Richard McPhail and councillor John Gardyne were appointed to negotiate the terms and conditions of an employment agreement with Parry.
