Hamilton City Council boss to step down
Richard Briggs has announced plans to step down as chief executive of Hamilton City Council.
Briggs, 47, has been in the role since 2014 and will not seek to have his contract renewed when it expires in October.
Council staff were told of Briggs’ intention to leave yesterday. Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate was informed by Briggs on Monday, while other elected members were told Tuesday. Briggs said he doesn’t have another job lined up and will pursue several commercial opportunities.
He plans to stay in Hamilton with his family but won’t continue working in local government.
‘‘I’ve started to get more and more interested in what I can do outside of council to improve the wellbeing of Hamilton,’’ Briggs told Stuff.
Council chief executives are typically employed on a five-year basis with a possible two-year extension.
‘‘While I really enjoy my job, and love it, I’ve got to be absolutely committed that I will be here for the five years because I don’t want to jerk council around.’’
Briggs hopes every member of his senior leadership team will give serious consideration to applying for his role. He was appointed as chief executive in 2014, having served as the council’s chief financial officer for about two years. His total remuneration package of $469,040 is comparable to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s ($471,000). It’s up to others to decide if his pay packet represents value for money, Briggs said.
‘‘We all work really hard in local government. It’s probably one of the most misunderstood sectors. Local government is complex, we’ve got 27 plus business units, 1200 staff.’’
Although public criticism comes with the job, some comments directed at him and his staff have crossed the line on occasion.
‘‘I’ve been physically accosted twice, most recently about Captain Hamilton.
‘‘It’s scary at times. I’ve had someone ring me and said [they] know where my daughter goes to school. So stuff like that is really upsetting.’’
Southgate, in a statement, said the council has engaged recruitment agency Kerridge to help identify potential candidates for the role.
‘‘His departure will be a loss to the sector, and he will be missed by staff and councillors alike,’’ Southgate said. ‘‘Elected members will be very sorry to see Richard move on, but we understand his desire to seek new opportunities.’’
As chief executive, Briggs served under three mayors – Julie Hardaker, Andrew King and Southgate. All three mayors allowed him to learn on the job.
‘‘I have no regrets as such, but I do wish I knew what I know now when I first started as chief executive.’’
His most difficult experience as chief executive was the death of Hamilton Zoo curator Samantha Kudeweh in 2015. Kudeweh was killed by sumatran tiger Oz while carrying out routine duties inside the animal’s enclosure.
‘‘That’s something that still personally impacts me, having someone in your organisation that didn’t go home at the end of the day.’’
Last month, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta outlined a major review into the future of local government. It will include examinations of how councils get their revenue and what their focus should be. The Government has also started the first phase of a national water reforms programme. The programme favours reforming current water service delivery into large scale providers.
Briggs supports both initiatives and believes councils need to be innovative in driving down costs.
‘‘We’ve got 77 local authorities, each one of them has got their own back office functions. Why can’t we have a national approach to some of these back office functions? Let’s go hard to strip the costs out.’’