Far North District Council ordered to pay former CEO Blair King $210,000
The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King.
Photo:
RNZ/Peter de Graaf
The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King, who resigned in 2023 less than a year into the role.
The council's legal costs relating to King's departure case are even higher, adding up to just over $220,000.
The figures were revealed to RNZ this week via a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request.
They do not include other costs, such as staff time or expenses incurred recruiting King's replacement.
The six-figure payout continues an unfortunate tradition at the council, where only one of the past four chief executives has left without an employment dispute and a hefty settlement.
Some occurred when a new chief executive was hired, or had their contract renewed, shortly before a local election then fell foul of incoming councillors.
Clive Manley, who was dismissed by then Far North Mayor Wayne Brown, received a severance payment in 2008 of $248,000. The reason for
his departure
was never disclosed.
His successor, Dave Edmunds, who was rehired by Brown's council just four days before the 2013 council elections, went on "temporary leave" a few months after John Carter was voted in as mayor.
In January 2014 it emerged Edmunds had left the council but the reason for his departure, or whether he had received a payout, were not revealed. However, the council's annual report, released in November that year, showed a severance payment of $193,846.
Councillors then employed Colin Dale, the former head of Manukau City Council, as acting chief executive until a permanent replacement could be found.
In 2017 the council hired ex-Air Force Group Captain Shaun Clarke. While councillors opted not to renew his contract for another two years from 2022, there was no employment dispute around Clarke's departure and no payout.
King, the former head of Tararua District Council, was hired at the end of 2021 and started work in March 2022. According to an Employment Relations Authority ruling released late last year, King formally resigned in February 2023, alleging a "toxic" environment and being "ghosted" by councillors.
Moko Tepania.
Photo:
Peter de Graaf/RNZ
The authority found the relationship breakdown between King and then newly elected Mayor Moko Tepania started at a meeting in Kaikohe in November 2022, though accounts differed as to exactly what happened at that meeting.
King argued he had been constructively dismissed and the council's behaviour had created a "toxic work environment", while the council filed a counter-claim alleging he had breached good faith obligations by failing to engage properly.
The authority found fault on both sides, dismissing the council's counter-claim and some of King's complaints.
However, the authority sided with King by finding he was subjected to "an unjustified disadvantage" during the Kaikohe meeting.
The authority also found the council had failed to engage with King after a confidential follow-up meeting called to discuss his future with the organisation.
The exact figure for the settlement paid to King, according to the council, is $212,750.00. The total legal costs were $220,115.21.
Tepania said both parties had come to a settlement, and no further comment could be provided.
The council's current chief executive Guy Holroyd, who previously headed Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust, said it was not appropriate to comment on an employment matter.
King was contacted for comment but had not responded by publication time.
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