The council released a statement yesterday saying councillors had approved a remuneration package for chief executive Mike Theelen, following the annual performance review process.
District Mayor Glyn Lewers said the remuneration package reflected Mr Theelen’s strong leadership through a time of great uncertainty for local government.
"You’d have to go a long way to find anyone who wasn’t aware of central government’s affordable water services programme, but most people won’t necessarily appreciate the pressure that this has been placing on local government to maintain services, keep planning for the future, and work with government’s national transition unit in the process of transferring these complex services to a new entity," Mr Lewers said.
"Council is also facing an extremely challenging environment with increasing costs, insurances and borrowing rates, whilst trying to balance the effect of rates on the local community during a cost of living crisis.
"Add in some significant building defect claims where council is the ‘last man standing’ and you’ve a massive job on your hands."
Mr Theelen’s remuneration now sits at $415,321.09 a year, an 8% baseline increase.
He started as chief executive in February 2016 and was reappointed for a further five years in 2020.
The council said the salary was aligned with current market data.
