SIMON O’CONNOR/Stuff
Craig Stevenson has resigned as chief executive of the New Plymouth District Council.
Craig Stevenson, chief executive of the New Plymouth District Council, has resigned just over a week after it was announced that he had gone on leave.
The shock announcement follows an emergency council meeting that has not been announced publicly.
In a brief statement on Friday, the council confirmed it had received a complaint about Stevenson’s conduct.
Aside from announcing that Stevenson had resigned, the statement merely echoed a previous statement by Mayor Neil Holdom.
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“NPDC has a highly capable leadership team that has a history of growing from executives to chief executives and surpassing much larger boards in terms of quality of services provided to our people and value,” the statement said.
“The Council has clear plans and strategies designed to ensure that all members of our wider team understand their role and how they contribute to continuing our waka for our people.
“The Council has full confidence in our Acting CEO Jacqueline Baker and our award-winning senior leadership team to continue to effectively manage the organization and deliver to our community every day, every day, 24/7/365.”
Stevenson was on contract with the council for nearly five years after serving as South Taranaki County Council for 14 years and earned a salary of nearly $370,000 a year.
His leave began after an emergency council meeting was held via Zoom last Thursday. That meeting was not publicly announced until four days after it was held, citing that it was being publicly barred for the purpose of adopting “commission reference rules”.