Gareth Green has been appointed acting chief executive of Tauranga City Council.

This follows Marty Grenfell’s sudden resignation from the role last Tuesday.

His last day was Friday.

A council statement confirming Green’s appointment said it would start recruiting for a permanent chief executive.

The elected council would consider the next steps for the appointment process at an October 20 meeting. The discussion will be closed to the public.

Green has worked at the council since March, when he joined as manager of the mayor’s office.

In June, he was appointed to the board of council-controlled organisation Bay Venues as a council staff representative.

Last month he received a Long Service Award from local government professionals network Taituarā, marking his 25 years in the sector.

Green was chief executive of New Plymouth District Council for three years before resigning in December to take up the Tauranga role.

Before that, he spent six years as Taupō District Council’s chief executive and 11 years as its group manager of operational services.

Grenfell, who held the Tauranga chief executive role for eight years, had faced public calls to resign following an August review that found January’s fatal Mount Maunganui landslide tragedy was “preventable”.

Former Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell. Photo / Alyse Wright

The external review found systemic issues in the council organisation, and did not find that any individual’s acts or omissions caused the six deaths.

Neither Grenfell nor the council have commented on why he quit.