<[link removed]>Hi Friend,

If you're a ratepayer and concerned about council bosses being out of control, make sure you are sitting down before you read this email.

Earlier today, a local government story broke that makes my blood boil. It’s a story we’ve been investigating — and one only exposed because of New Zealanders who support our work.

It's unbelievable.

It demonstrates what we all suspect (but can seldom confirm): council bosses are running the Town Halls like their personal fiefdoms. They don't give a hoot about elected councillors, let alone the interests of ratepayers.

Friend, you might recall that the Government recently passed laws aimed at tackling so-called 'golden handshakes'.

The law change basically said people paid more than $200,000 are not in a power imbalance and therefore should not be able to make personal grievance claims for 'unjustified dismissal'.

The argument is that once you're on the big bucks, employment protection laws designed to protect vulnerable workers shouldn't justify massive six-figure payouts if an employer needs to move on an underperforming executive.

The Taxpayers' Union strongly supported the new provisions – it is the threat of 'unfair dismissal' claims that result in the six-figure 'golden handshakes' we read about in the media so often.

For those already in jobs paid more than $200k, the law has transitional provisions giving employers/employees 12 months to agree new exit terms (say a fixed notice period or other arrangement).

Well, you wouldn't believe it, but we've discovered that behind the backs of elected officials, the Chief Executive of Wellington City Council called a meeting with his management team and agreed on behalf of Wellington City Council to waive the provisions!

You read that right – we discovered that the managers of a Council whose own reports show that the Council has too many managers (and underperforming!) quietly locked-in contracts that guarantee them golden parachutes if they lose their jobs.

Council bosses bypassing elected officials to feather the bureaucratic nest

If you've been an employer, or sat on a Board of Directors, you will understand how outrageous that decision was by the Council's Chief Executive Town Clerk.

This exec team is showing they're not about public service at all. They're running the council like a cartel!

Instead of acting in the Council's interests, this CEO, Matt Prosser, has cooked up with his buddies a scheme to ensure the Mayor and Councillors can't use the very law the Government passed to sack dud officials!

Friend, we heard about this story earlier in the week and had it confirmed from the Council earlier today.

Even Wellington's newspaper The Post – which generally favours the views of Wellington's bureaucrats – has picked up the story: <[link removed]>

<[link removed]>

Speaking to The Post it's fair to say I didn't hold back:

"It is simply unbelievable that Matt Prosser would make such a decision that is so blatantly against the interests of the organisation and ratepayers. This decision effectively locks in golden handshakes at a time when Wellington City Council know they are overstaffed and lacking competence.

Ushering this through without approval from the Governing Body, amounts to serious misconduct. It is the executive team acting in their own self-interest, and grounds for the Council to sack their CEO."

Friend, this is the same Council boss that put the Mayor in an office facing a car park – while he and the executives are moving onto the penthouse floors (with harbour views) in the Council's new offices.

But this is far, far more serious. It undermines the governance of the Council, and has clearly been done to railroad those councillors who want to reduce staffing numbers (and the Government, which wants to amalgamate local councils)

This is why local councils are out of control – the foxes are running the hen house

Friend, this is case in point of the sort of behaviour of council bosses that undermines local democracy across New Zealand. 

I know the Government is very keen on amalgamations and rearrangements of local council boundaries, but until we fix the governance and democratic accountability inside local councils, nothing will change.

This is what the Taxpayers' Union is focused on.

But we need your support to push against these self-interested high paid executives (and the likes of LGNZ who enable them). <[link removed]>

Friend, Council bosses are deliberately undermining the elected officials and it needs to be exposed and called out.

Your support means that we can continue to unearth behaviour like this, publicise it, and convince the Government to change the law.

We need to empower the elected officials to take back control as part of the Government's upcoming reforms.

Without your support, nothing will change and council bosses on fat pay packets will continue to run amok. <[link removed]>

Because there is no point in just getting angry at local councils. We need to work together and put these self-interested grifters back in their box.

>> Make a secure donation to support these sorts of investigations <[link removed]>

Thank you for the support which enables us to expose the next council and stop bureaucrats hijacking local democracy.


Jordan Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Ps. Incredibly, there is even more to come on this story – we haven't quite lined it up, but if you think Wellington City Council is the only Town Hall where this is going on, I have a bridge to sell you... Chip-in so the team can keep rooting out the rot in local government. <[link removed]>

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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