The contract of Port Macqharie Hasting Council’s General Manager, Andrew Roach, was terminated at last week’s Council meeting, effective from February 17.
The contract was terminated under the provisions of Section 10.3.5 of the standard contract of employment which exists between Councils and General Managers.
Administrator Garry Payne said, “Due to the nature of personnel matters and contractual issues, I am not able to comment any further. I would like to thank Mr Roach for his services over the last two years and I wish him well for the future,” Mr Payne said.
“Mr Jeffery Sharp will act as General Manager in the short term.
“Let me assure the community that this senior staffing change will have no impact at all on the delivery of Council services to the community or any impact on other functions of Council.
“I will continue to work with our staff so that together we can achieve the ambitions that we hold for this great region.”
Mr Payne said he was commencing the process of recruiting a new General Manager.
Mr Payne advised he was going to advertise widely to ensure high quality candidates were attracted.
He foreshadowed that, given the natural attractiveness of the area and the level of education, health and other services available in the region to support families, interest would be very high.
Apart from Local Government technical expertise and experience, Mr Payne said he would be looking for applicants who have a strong sense of community, a commitment to and record of consultation, a practical approach to dealing with community issues and extensive experience in multi-disciplined organisations.
Mr Payne said he would expect the General Manager to be a team builder within Council and highly visible in the community to address operational issues of concern to residents, community groups and business associations.
The Administrator expects the process to take eight to ten weeks.
Meanwhile, Council’s acting General Manager Jeffery Sharp has reluctantly accepted the resignation of Corporate and Business Services Director Tony Leahy.
Mr Sharp said, “Tony has been a valued member of the organisation and has been an integral part of the Executive Team during the majority of this time.
“I am sorry to see Tony leave, but I respect his decision to explore other career opportunities outside Local Government.
“Since joining Council in April 1997 as the Manager of Financial Services and more recently as Director of Corporate and Business Services, Tony has overseen a number of major projects including the redevelopment of the Port Macquarie airport, the introduction of Virgin Blue services to the area, as well as helping to build the region’s events calendar, with national events such as Ironman Australia, National Touch League and the Wintersun Festival,” Mr Sharp said.
Administrator Garry Payne said, “With such a wide knowledge of our activities, I am pleased that Tony has offered to assist Council on some of these projects into the future.
“Fourteen years with the one organisation is a long time these days and Council has been fortunate to have the benefit of his expertise for that period.
“On behalf of Council I’d like to wish Tony all the best for the future,” Mr Payne said.
