Susanna Freymark
The council should hold interviews for a new general manager starting July 8 – this is the recommendation being made at the next Kyogle Council meeting on July 8 at 2pm.
At the council meeting in February the decision was made to appoint the Director of Planning and Community Development Chris White to the position of acting general manager from February 23 until a permanent GM was recruited.
In February, IndyNR.com published an article about that tense meeting when councillor Janet Wilson put forward a motion that the council not move to appoint a permanent general manager and appoint an interim general manager for a period of 10 months.
This was her rationale behind her statement:
“The mayor said in her comments during this difficult time that the next council would decide who would be the next GM. This is a prudent approach to employing new personnel approaching an election in September,” Ms Wilson said.
It doesn’t look like this is going to happen.
Graham Kennett was sacked suddenly as GM in December last year. There were protests about the sacking.
Brett Kelly was appointed GM after the sacking but seven weeks into the job he left.
Now the General Manager Subcommittee for Recruitment which includes mayor Kylie Webster, deputy mayor Tom Cooper and councillor Rob Cullen has been in consultation with agency Leading Roles for the recruitment of a new GM.
On June 11, Leading Roles sent the subcommittee an applicant summary for consideration.
Out of the summary, a short list of three candidates was made.
The subcommittee now wants to begin interviews on July 8.
There will be a vote by councillors on this process on the same day – July 8.
Given the way the council has voted on GM matters in the past, this decision is likely to get the thumbs up from a majority of councillors.
Ratepayers are entitled to be at the meeting and watch how the voting goes.
The July and August meetings are the final two council meetings before the September elections.
The NSW Office of Local Government said the caretaker period for councils in the lead up to the election is from August 16– September 14.
The caretaker restrictions are designed to prevent outgoing councils from making major decisions that will bind the new council or limit its
actions.
