This council job pays up to $633,852 a year. But there’s an easy way to lose it
More than 50 bosses of NSW local councils have had their positions terminated by councillors since the last local government elections, raising concerns about the bureaucrat role being used for political purposes.
The most senior bureaucrats are tasked with overseeing the administration of local governments, but unlike all other positions, council bosses are appointed and terminated at the vote of councillors.
Local government elections due in September are expected to bring fresh shake-ups.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
That opens up the position to political interference, according to a new report from the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, which calls on the state government to separate politics from the hiring and firing of council leaders.
“Often, a GM is terminated following a shift in the council’s political balance of power,” the report, released on Monday, said. “This may be done using the dismissal-without-explanation provision of [a job contract].”
Of the more than 50 general managers or chief executives sacked or managed out of their positions since the local council elections in December 2021, more than 20 were removed in the first year after the polls, according to data analysed by the dialogue. Fresh council elections in September this year mean the rate of terminations could increase further, the dialogue’s Adam Leto said.
“The role of the CEO or general manager is to make sure the council is operating efficiently and delivering on its strategic objectives, free from political prejudice,” Leto said. “CEOs or GMs need to have the autonomy to do the job they were employed to do, without politics getting in the way.
“Yes, they should always be accountable to councillors, but under the current system, the lines between the strategic and delivery functions of council can sometimes get blurred.”
In contrast to the relatively low pay rates for mayors and councillors, chief executives and general managers are paid handsomely, taking home between $334,108 and $633,852 a year, depending on the size of the council (and they are entitled to a payout worth up to 38 weeks’ work).
The issue shot to the headlines again last month after Liverpool Council, in Sydney’s south-west, suspended its chief executive pending an external investigation.
John Ajaka – Liverpool’s 10th permanent or acting chief executive in eight years – was suspended in a behind-closed-doors council meeting when Liberal Mayor Ned Mannoun used his casting vote.
Half the council voted against the termination, and some councillors lodged a rescission motion after the meeting.
Ajaka is a former Liberal MP who had worked with Mannoun and was appointed to the $537,000-a-year role in December 2022. The Herald revealed at the time that the top-ranked candidate for the job was not among the final three candidates, who were all Liberal-aligned.
In Ku-ring-gai, in Sydney’s north, general manager John McKee had his contract terminated by a council vote. At the time, some councillors who rejected the termination said he was being used as a “political tool”.
Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig will consider whether council general managers should also be employed on an award, not contract, basis.
“I accept that, like any organisation, councils have to find the right fit … and that there are reasons these appointments don’t always work out,” he said. “There is a shortage of people within the local government sector with sufficient finance and administration skills and experience to take on the significantly difficult role of a general manager.”
The Office of Local Government said councils had the right to make senior staff changes, and there was nothing to prevent a general manager’s employment from being terminated for whatever reason.
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