A veteran councillor’s sudden resignation on Monday and forthcoming mediation between Gore Mayor Ben Bell and chief executive Stephen Parry are only the latest of many issues that have arisen since last year’s election.
DIA general manager policy and operations Richard Ward said the government department was in contact with the council to better understand the nature and extent of the problem.
"It is not unusual for councils to experience problems in the governance and management of their community.
"There are often more problems at the beginning of each three-year term as new relationships and ways of working are established," he said.
When asked whether DIA was considering taking action or appointing a commissioner, Mr Ward said councils were expected to resolve their own problems.
"Councils are accountable to their communities for their actions and decisions, rather than to ministers or the department."
DIA could ask for information on how the council was managing an issue and provide support where necessary, but it was too early to know exactly what support might be required, he said.
Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty said he was aware of the situation in Gore.
"I am primarily concerned about the legal framework within which local authorities operate.
"I have no responsibility for relations between councillors."
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) was approached for comment, but it referred to a statement chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene made on the matter last week.
"One of Local Government NZ’s important roles is to help councils when there are tricky relationship issues," she said.
"We are aware of the issues at Gore District Council and have been liaising."
Since her statement, the Gore district is now facing a by-election following the resignation of councillor of 15 years, Bret Highsted.
Council communications and customer support general manager Sonia Gerken said the council was still looking at potential dates for this.
A by-election would cost about $34,000 if it was contested and about $3500 if it was not contested, she said.
"This will be paid by the council."
When asked whether ratepayers could be confident in the council’s governance, she said the council’s staff would continue to function and provide the services they were responsible for.
This was despite Mr Highsted saying in his resignation letter that since last year’s election, he had found the council environment "highly stressful and the levels of anxiety unsustainable".
A key driver of this seems to be the rocky relationship between Mr Parry and Mr Bell — whose mother Rebecca Tayler was the council’s former regulatory and community services general manager.
An extraordinary council meeting last Tuesday decided an elected member would be appointed to act as an intermediary between Mr Bell and Mr Parry for governance and relevant operational matters.
