A Tauranga city councillor claims the Mayor refused to engage with his colleagues from day one

Mayor Tenby Powell has resigned, in the hopes of prompting Government into appointing commissioners to replace councillors.

Moments before his resignation, the Council had voted to install a crown manager - in a bid to resolve rampant bullying and bitter infighting.

But City Councillor Steve Morris says the tone comes down from the top.

He says the Mayor hasn't led - which is sad because he came to the table promising a lot - but ultimately failed to deliver.

The Local Government Minister will receive advice next week about whether the threshold for intervention has been reached.