Leading Under Pressure in Local Government: Balancing Rates, Expectations, and Trust

Benji Crooks, Marketing Director at Public Sector Network, sits down with Matt Prosser, Chief Executive Officer, Wellington City Council, to discuss the biggest pressures facing councils today, how local government leaders can make tough prioritisation decisions when budgets are tight, and why trust depends on being transparent about trade-offs, ahead of his appearance on the “Leading Under Pressure: Collaboration and Shared Services in Modern Local Government” panel at Local Government Focus Day Auckland on Thursday, 14 May 2026.

Benji Crooks: Starting off, what would you say the biggest pressure is for your council at the moment, and how are you responding?

Matt Prosser: As a chief executive, there is not really one single pressure, aside from the constant challenge of delivering quality services at a cost that is both affordable and achievable. That is what residents want.

In practice, that means making decisions about where to invest and where to disinvest across services, and that inevitably creates tension among politicians, residents, communities, and businesses alike. Everyone thinks prioritisation is easy, but when it comes down to it, it is actually very difficult.

Most conversations across the city centre on a familiar tension: people want rates down, but they also want investment up, whether that is in infrastructure, the arts, culture, leisure, city safety, housing, parks, trees, water, roads, rubbish, or recycling. They want more of everything, while still wanting rates reduced.

That prioritisation piece is really challenging. My response is that we need both a great workplace culture and a high-performance culture at the same time, so we can deliver more with less.

Benji Crooks: That really touches on what you were just saying. When money is tight and there are so many competing wants and needs, how do you choose what to reduce and prioritise?

Matt Prosser: That is a real challenge. In a local authority context, for me it has to be politically led and managerially delivered.

As a managerial leader, I can make the organisation more efficient and effective. But politicians can change the course of the organisation by deciding to invest in new services or functions, or not to invest in them. They then have to stand by those decisions as elected representatives.

When money is tight, those who are democratically elected have to step up and make some tough choices. Our role as officers is to provide them with really good advice in that space.

The key challenge is making sure we are as efficient and effective as possible before those decisions are made. Nobody wants to take politically difficult decisions, decisions that could affect their social licence to operate with communities, only to later discover that operational improvements could have avoided the need for such hard choices.

So there is important work to do in making sure the organisation is running efficiently and effectively. From there, everything should be viewed through a value-for-money lens, ensuring people are focused on delivering the best outcomes at the lowest possible cost.

Then you can say to politicians, “Right, I can do no more. What is it you want to stop? What services do you want to reduce? What are you prepared to step back from?” Sometimes that means acknowledging that something has been gold-plated, and perhaps for a while it needs to be bronze-plated instead. The important thing is to be clear about how and why those decisions are made.

Benji Crooks: In that same sense, how do you manage community expectations around what council will be spending on?

Matt Prosser: I think that is one of the key challenges, being clear about the trade-offs with both politicians and communities as you consider reducing or stopping services.

Transparency with communities is really important, and so is giving them a voice. I have been in New Zealand for nearly a year now, and there is a very strong submissions process here. Local communities come forward and make submissions.

Last year, I heard quite a few people say councils should “get back to basics”, which was often met with nods around the table. But by the end of their submission, they would also say they wanted to keep this service, invest in that one, and deliver something else as well. The reality is that the money tree does not exist.

That is why clarity is so important. If people understand what you are doing and why, it becomes easier for them to accept that change is needed. Not everyone will be happy when you stop or reduce something, but if they understand the trade-off, if they know you are choosing to invest in one area instead of another, that clarity helps.

Of course, some people will never be completely happy, but ultimately you have to work with the majority in the middle.

Benji Crooks: Picking up on that point, how do you maintain understanding and trust during those tougher decisions?

Matt Prosser: I think it comes back to clear communication, making sure communities are listened to, and ensuring there is a sound rationale for why one thing is being stopped while something else continues.

Even when a decision is political, and it has to be political, it is still about communicating clearly with communities. I think communities appreciate honesty, even when the message is difficult.

We have had a few difficult messages to deliver as a city, and our elected mayor has stood up, fronted those issues, and said, “We are going to fix this.” He has not been wrong to do that. Politically, I think he has gained social licence by being direct about the issue, explaining what needs to happen, and then demonstrating that it has been done.

It is the same with tough decisions more broadly. If you can clearly articulate why those decisions have had to be taken, whether it is about rates going up, rates staying down, or the impact on affordability, then the community has a better chance of understanding them.

That said, sometimes you can never provide enough information. Again, it comes back to working with the majority in the middle.

Benji Crooks: Finally, as you will be speaking on the Leading Under Pressure panel on Local Government Focus Day, what are you hoping attendees will take away from the session?

Matt Prosser: I have been a chief executive for more than a decade. I have been chief executive of two councils at the same time, then three councils, helped bring six councils into one, and I am now chief executive of a capital city.

What I hope attendees take away is that leading under pressure is the new normal, but that it is still possible to deliver in that environment.

Hopefully, we will be able to share some practical tips and insights into how we manage that pressure, and give colleagues some useful ideas about what it is like to lead in those circumstances.

As leaders, it is important to share. People often say a problem shared is a problem halved. I am not sure I completely subscribe to that, but I do believe that sharing the problems you have faced, and how you have led through them, can help others lead through similar situations.

So I hope people will learn something from us. I am also looking forward to learning from the others on the panel. The session is listed as “Leading Under Pressure: Collaboration and Shared Services in Modern Local Government” and will focus on financial pressure, rising expectations, reform, and how councils can collaborate to maintain performance, trust, and community impact.

Hear Matt Prosser live

Hear Matt Prosser at Local Government Focus Day Auckland as part of Government Innovation Week Aotearoa 2026 on Thursday, 14 May 2026. His panel, “Leading Under Pressure: Collaboration and Shared Services in Modern Local Government,” will explore how executive leaders are navigating budget constraints, rising community expectations, and shared services models across councils.