Council CEO quits suddenly

Grey District Council chief executive Paul Morris has resigned, effective immediately, after about four years in the role.

Mayor Tania Gibson announced to staff on Thursday he was leaving “to pursue further opportunities available to him”. His departure was effective immediately, her email said.

The Press understands councillors declined to increase Morris’ remuneration during a public-excluded council meeting in February.

According to the council’s annual reports, the chief executive’s remuneration, including expenses, was $261,500 in 2023 – about $50,000 more than in 2021.

The chief executive employment subcommittee held an extraordinary meeting in December to discuss the chief executive’s remuneration. Its terms of reference include reviewing the chief executive’s performance and recommending to the council the annual salary level for the next financial year.

All four senior managers at the Grey District Council decided not to reapply for jobs after their roles were disestablished and replaced with three group managers in September 2021, following a review that uncovered an environment of “mistrust and division”.

In 2022, Morris announced he was culling 14 roles and creating eight new ones, saving $1.1 million. Redundancies were expected to cost $306,000. However, in the council’s 2022 annual report it recorded an unbudgeted expenditure of $1.1m on consultants.

On the departure, one source said: “There has been a mutual agreement for a parting of the ways”. Another source compared it to a “no-fault divorce”.

Councillors and the mayor had a “loss of confidence” in some changes, the source said, with the restructure costing a lot and some councillors questioning the value for money. “Because of Covid and other things like the difficulty of attracting people to the Coast the outcomes are taking longer than hoped.”

Meanwhile, the Buller District Council announced yesterday it had appointed Simon Pickford as chief executive. Acting chief executive Steve Gibling was announced as the new Selwyn District Council executive director for people, culture and capability. Buller’s former chief executive Sharon Mason is now chief executive of the Selwyn District Council.

Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said Pickford would start on March 25 for a five-year term after a comprehensive national search and selection process, with 74 applications for the position. Pickford spent nine years as general manager of community services at Dunedin City Council.