Thousands of protesters yesterday gathered outside the Christchurch City Council offices to vent their anger at mayor Bob Parker and his chief executive Tony Marryatt.
A former political candidate in the Garden City, Darel Hall, now of Dunedin, offers his view on what's led to the crisis.
Mr Marryatt's pay increase was signed on September 29 last year but not made public until just before Christmas.
Mayor Bob Parker justified the increase partly based on a performance review that rated his CEO 4.25 out of 5. Mr Marryatt's first review in 2010 included one question about his overall performance that can be interpreted that way.
In fact, his average rating in that review was a "high" rating of 4.1, which dropped to an average 3.9 "moderate" rating in the most recent review just before the infamous increase. However, the vote by council, led by Mr Parker, rated Mr Marryatt's performance as "outstanding".
The issue of transparency is not new and is not earthquake-related. In my view, the secrecy began immediately when Mr Parker became mayor in 2007. A crisis was manufactured in order to buy the Ellerslie Flower Show for $3 million.
Subsequent official information requests showed that the most any other council in New Zealand was prepared to consider was $450,000 for a three-year contract.
The secrecy inherent in major council decision-making, and exclusion of councillors not perceived to be on Mr Parker's "team", has led to poor decisions.
This included trying to increase council rents by 24% and having the decision declared invalid in the High Court.
The council was clearly advised of the illegality of the increase by the Council of Social Services, something which could have been investigated cheaply to determine the merits of the opinion.
However, official information shows that "Bob's Team" instead incurred over $250,000 in legal fees alone.
The issue is most emphatically not a left-right/Labour-National issue.
Around the council table the lead has come from Tim Carter, a scion of Christchurch business and Christchurch small 'c' conservatism.
With his election Mr Carter has made clear demands for adherence to due process in council decision-making.
Consequently, he has got offside with Mr Parker and has discovered that he finds common ground with business leaders and centre-left critics about how the city ought to be run.
Left-leaning Yani Johanson, head of the council's communication committee, was advised of the decision by Messrs Parker and Marryatt to spend $80,000 on a communications review 20 minutes before the announcement.
Cr Johanson has been trying for four years to get greater openness at the council table. This included a languishing plan for greater openness and transparency following Cr Chrissie Williams' resignation last September because of the council's dysfunctional performance and lack of leadership.
This plan was praised by Mr Parker at the time.
The broader context of Mr Marryatt's $68,000, 14% pay increase is the systemic attitude that led to that decision. He signed on with the council in May 2007 for a total remuneration package of $370,000. In four years this jumped 46% to a salary of $538,529.
By comparison, the Statistics New Zealand labour cost index for local government costs incurred as a result of employing the people universally praised for doing their duty - for clearing the drains and repairing the roads - shows an increase of 12% during the same four-year period.
And they are not being offered another 14% increase.
The increase is part of a pattern of rising salaries over a number of years, both in the case of Tony Marryatt and more generally for the very highly paid.
The attitude conveyed has been that there is an absolute right to this increase. The fact that he now rejects the pay increase doesn't mitigate the failure in attitude exhibited. And the rejection was done with the poorest possible grace, negating its effect.
Before September 2010, Mr Parker was losing the election. Both our own polling and media polls showed Jim Anderton well ahead. With Bob's clear communication after the September 4 earthquake, and a promise to do better on process, people gave him a second chance.
The anger exhibited in Christchurch is about people feeling let down. The appointment by the Government of a crown observer, Kerry Marshall, to keep an eye on the council is a good sign.
It provides the tasty carrot of a new perspective from a wise head with a barely concealed stick of council abolition if significant change does not occur.
The ODT editorial (27.1.12) was spot on when it said "the council must take the city with it. That requires openness, confidence and a degree of sensitivity on the part of highly placed decision makers".
Following that prescription, Bob Parker can still save his mayoralty and possibly enjoy another term in office. All he has to do is humbly acknowledge he has got it wrong and fulfil his election promises of transparency and openness in council decision-making.
• Darel Hall was the chairman of centre-left political grouping "Christchurch 2021" at the 2010 local body elections.
