Saturday 14 February 2015

Is Clarence Valley Council's general manager trying to inoculate himself against any regime change at the 10 September 2016 local government election?


Clarence Valley Council’s 17 February Ordinary Monthly Meeting Business Paper contains these interesting items:
Now it is my understanding that a general manager can ask for an early renewal of a contract. 

It is further my understanding that the General Manager’s existing $240,000 per annum five-year performance based contract still has approximately 20 months left to run and doesn’t end until around six to seven weeks after the September 2016 local government election. 

However, these two mayoral minutes raise certain questions.

Is Mayor Richie Williamson attempting to ensure that the general manager doesn’t have to face a possible new mix of councillors when renewing his contract? Or perhaps face a set of councillors disinclined to keep him in this position?

Is the contract renewal minute occurring this far out because the NSW Government has signalled that it will not approve of councils renewing general manager contracts in the six months prior to any local government election and, by having the matter addressed now is the mayor hoping no-one will make a connection with the next council election?

Are current councillors really desirous of keeping this general manager under contract until 2020, thereby side stepping the six month limit and binding a post-September 2016 Clarence Valley Council to this particular general manager?

Background

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