Let the new councillors decide
Eurobodalla Shire Council is considering the general manager’s request for an extension of his employment contract.
At this stage the process is secret and expressions of interest from other executives have not been sought.
Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association believes that the general manager’s position should be opened to competition and the appointment decision made after September’s election by the incoming council.
Councillors are obliged under Section 232 of the Local Government Act to ensure that the best value is obtained for ratepayers’ money in all council contracts. If the appointment of the shire’s chief executive is done secretly, in the absence of competition, current councillors are unlikely to judge objectively whether Mr Anderson’s performance warrants a lengthy extension of his term.
After all, they have taken little action in response to the findings contained in consultants’ reports and reinforced recently in
the extraordinary levels of community dissatisfaction with council’s performance revealed in Micromex survey research.
New councillors will be able to bring fresh eyes and wider community consultation to whether Mr Anderson has contributed significantly to improving council’s financial position, service provision, its standing in the community, its progress in planning and development and its relations with other levels of government.
In any event, it is in the community’s interest that the market is tested every five years or so to identify the availability of other executives attracted to the high salary and the challenges of managing the change so clearly necessary at council.
Geoff Plews, Chair, Eurobodalla Ratepayers Association
