Nanaia Mahuta, the Minister of Local Government, has revealed she plans to appoint a Commission in response to governance problems at Tauranga City Council.
The deeply divided council has recently been slammed as being made up of "petty politicians" in "desperate need of progressive thinking", by Tauranga's outgoing mayor Tenby Powell.
During a fiery resignation speech in November, Powell called on Mahuta to appoint commissioners to replace the councillors.
"I hope history will show that November 2020, the DNA of incompetence among TCC elected members was recognised and cauterized, and after a period of crown management that the governor's team can be rebuilt with real members," he said.
On Friday, Mahuta announced she had informed the council of her intention to appoint a Commission in response to the problems and the findings of an independent review.
"I have been closely watching the conduct of the Council for a number of months. I have grown increasingly concerned at the governance issues, and the impact this has on Tauranga ratepayers and significant investment in the region," she said.
"The Council was given the opportunity to address the concerns, but has demonstrated that more direct action is needed."
Tauranga City Council now has 10 days to respond to Mahuta's letter of intention, and she said their response will be considered before they make a final decision.
"For the ratepayers in Tauranga, I know certainty is important. I am keen to make a decision quickly so that Tauranga can get on with its critical planning and investment."
The Tauranga City Council confirmed they had received the letter in a statement on Friday.
Acting Mayor Tina Salisbury said, if appointed, the commission would perform and exercise the council's responsibilities, duties and powers - effectively replacing and taking the role of the council's elected members.
She said they intend to respond to the letter, and believe Mahuta's final decision will be made in early 2021.
"Our community can have confidence that council's full range of essential services and activities will continue to be delivered professionally, effectively and without interruption," Salisbury said.
"That will include progressing the preparation of our critical 2021-31 long-term plan, ready for consultation with the community early next year."
Mahuta's intention to appoint a commission is backed by Local Government New Zealand's National Council (LGNZ), which represents the country's 78 local councils.
President Stuart Crosby said it was a tough call that puts the interests of the community first.
"There is disappointment in the local government sector that such drastic action has had to be taken, but it is a lesson to us all that dysfunctional behaviour won't be tolerated because it undermines faith in the local democratic process," he said.
"Fostering a culture of good local governance is ultimately the collective responsibility of all elected members, and while the decision to remove the democratic representative tier of a council is never taken lightly, when it does it is appropriate that accountability is shared."
