Quick, nobody is looking

… or just too tired to care.

The CEO of the City of Stirling just had his contract renewed, if that comes as a surprise its probably because it was a confidential late item thrown in at the end of the busiest (and first) full Council meeting of the year, a meeting that stretched until around midnight, held behind closed doors of course, the subject only showing in the agenda as NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE, further expanded as CONTRACT EXTENSION (LATE NOTICE)

Nobody knew that this was a CEO contract extension apart from Councillors who were in the dark themselves until the late notice on Friday before the meeting, and many an encouraging phone call from then onwards. The great unwashed given no hint or notice at all of course.

So what was so urgent about renewing the CEO’s contract ? was it about to expire ? no … 18 months to go…

Now if I did know the reasons actually presented to Council at the meeting , well I could not possibly say…. but if I did, I am sure my inner sceptic would be poking me furiously.

Recruitment and Selection Standard

…is a subsection of the enchantingly titled Standards and Guidelines For Local Government CEO recruitment and Selection Performance Review and termination ,a must read available at no good bookshop anywhere but available online here.

S1.11
The local government must re-advertise the CEO position after each instance where a person has occupied the CEO position for ten (10) consecutive years

So, recent changes to the Local Government Act … coming soon to a LGA near you will require the CEO’s position to have to be re-advertised if, like as in Stirling’s case this extension would extend the CEO’s tenure past ten years, the changes almost certain to require an independent body to be part of the requirement process

Of course these changes are not yet enacted and can be lawfully ignored, though one might expect that an informed Council may wish to partake in some informed debate on these changes , consider the rationale of them being enacted in the first place and if and how that might be relevant to The City of Stirling.

But were council informed of these changes? officer reports and advice etc are off limits to the ratepayer for such confidential items something that IMO* needs to change if the core principles of the City of Stepford of transparency and accountability are to be more than throwaway sound-bites.

The critically minded might question whether this extension was presented in good faith or whether Council was underfed some pertinent information and some might say misdirected from an assumption that this extension might have more to do with postponing the inevitable requirement of having to re-advertise the CEO position for a few more years than any other rationale.

……

I would like to say I am confident that Council were fully informed of all the relevant issues prior to this vote , at 11:30PM, behind closed doors, for a late item they were given no time to consider despite its importance , on the busiest Council meeting of the year, that will remain confidential to the public and was held nearly a year before (incoming) legislation might require**…….

….else I might be suggesting that Council had had the wool pulled over its eyes and just given another 2 years to the chief pattern maker of the administration that does the knitting.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

* not just my opinion either, the Shire of Capel is doing exactly that;

https://www.bunburymail.com.au/story/6478702/new-capel-president-to-put-an-end-to-closed-door-meetings/

** A reliable source informs that incoming changes are slated to require that future CEO contract extensions will be mandated to be held no earlier than 6 months prior to end of contract.