Newly-released information shows Christchurch City Council chief executive Tony Marryatt received a $68,000 pay rise despite his performance being anything but stellar.
On Friday Mr Marryatt announced he would not accept the controversial pay rise. That followed months of criticism of the rise from residents and local groups.
At the time the increase was announced Mayor Bob Parker said it was recognition for the outstanding job Mr Marryatt was doing.
Now, papers have been released under the Official Information Act and include two in-house reviews of Mr Marryatt's performance.
They show him doing only moderately well at his job and his performance has continued to slide since at least 2009.
The organiser of the No Pay Rise for Tony Marryatt protest to take place this week, Peter Lynch, says this makes a lie of assertions from some on the council that Mr Marryatt has been a good performer.
He says the reviews show Mr Marryatt's performance deteriorating across most of the areas he was judged on.
Nobody from the council was willing to talk on the report.
The documents also include advice to the council that Mr Marryatt's previous salary of $470,000 was substantially above the median salary offered to chief executives in large public sector organisations.
Despite this, Mr Marryatt, who has been in the job since early 2007, was awarded a 14% pay rise just before Christmas, taking his salary to $538,500.
'Blakmailing' the council
Mr Marryatt has now promised to give back half of his $68,000 pay rise and says he'll refund the other half, if councillors show they can work together.
However, critics say that is effectively blackmail.
The spokesperson of the Earthquake Action Group, Rev Mike Coleman, said Mr Marryatt's offer to return the backdated portion of his pay rise, from July last year, if the council can sort out its problems is a form of "blackmail" that is undemocratic.
"He should be being talked to by elected councillors. He calls the shots in our city, regardless of what elected councillors say or think. That's why we don't have democracy here. He is in management, he is not in government."
Mr Coleman says Mr Marryatt needs to resign immediately, and new local body elections should also be held.
In a statement released on Friday Mr Marryatt said his decision has been based on what's best for the council and its staff.
It also quotes him as saying the backlash has been tough on staff and distracting to the city's rebuild, and he wants to act in the spirit of the council working together.
In the statement he says the rejection of the pay rise is a sign of his commitment to Christchurch, the council and its staff.
In 2009, Mr Parker said the city's ratepayers were well served by Mr Marryatt after it was revealed his pay increased 22% that year.
Some questioned the size of the increase during the recession, and at a time when council funding for community grants has been cut by $750,000.
Weeks of infighting
The initial announcement came on Friday afternoon after Mayor Bob Parker and city councillors had met the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, and Local Government Minister Nick Smith.
The meeting was called to discuss weeks of infighting in the council and calls from one councillor for independent commissioners to be appointed to replace the council.
At a media conference following the meeting, Mr Parker and Dr Smith said the Government is appointing an observer from the Crown to oversee the Council - a lesser level of intervention than appointing independent commissioners.
Former president of Local Government New Zealand and a former mayor of both Nelson City and Tasman District, Kerry Marshall, has been named to the position.
He will attend his first council meeting on Monday, 30 January.
