By MATT NICHOLLS
ARMIDALE Dumaresq Council general manager Shane Burns says he has no intention of walking away from his post after a bloc of councillors tried to negotiate his sacking behind closed doors on Monday night.
Mayor Laurie Bishop put forward a mayoral minute to seek the view of Local Government NSW in an attempt to negotiate terms with Mr Burns.
It divided councillors down the middle, with four of Cr Bishop’s colleagues supporting the motion, while the other five voted against.
Using his casting vote as mayor, Cr Bishop carried the motion, which read:
1. That the mayor and deputy mayor seek the view of LGNSW regarding the working arrangements of the ADC executive and if it believes that mediation is appropriate then the mayor and deputy mayor instruct LGNSW to organise for mediation to occur.
2. If (1) does not provide a resolution then council authorises the mayor and deputy mayor to seek the assistance of the LGNSW to negotiate with the GM for the early termination of the General Manager’s contract of employment.
3. That council authorises the mayor and deputy mayor in consultation with LGNSW to negotiate a deed of settlement provided that the deed of settlement is within the terms of the general manager’s contract and provisions of the Local Government Act.
However, Councillor Herman Beyersdorf quickly put forward a rescission motion to have the matter delayed. This was carried.
It’s expected an extraordinary meeting will be held later this week or early next week.
However, Mr Burns said he had no intention of stepping down as general manager until his contract ended in September.
“This action is driven by my challenging of the mayor over his aggressive and unbelievable behaviour towards staff, which is now the subject of two current code of conduct complaints, involving many staff members,” he said.
“The complaints have involved intimidation and berating of staff and the latest involving aggressive verbal abuse and the throwing of papers hitting a staff member in the chest,” Mr Burns said.
“This is totally unacceptable and I will continue as long as I am employed, to make such challenges in providing staff with a safe work environment.”
Mr Burns said he wondered if councillors had been given the full story before being asked to vote.
“I do not know what the councillors have been told to gain their support for the resolution, not all facts I suspect,” he said.
“If councillors continue to support the motion after knowing all the facts, then they would be condoning these unacceptable behaviours.
“I suspect the move to terminate my contract and have me sign a “deed of settlement” is more to do suppressing the issues and preventing me raising these matters, which is my obligation as a general manager.”
Cr Bishop said there had been a long history of unsubstantiated claims against him and that he had been speaking to the legal department at Local Government NSW to deal with the matters.
The mayor said the working relationship between him and Mr Burns had reached breaking point.
“There’s no doubt it’s been a deteriorating situation,” Cr Bishop said.
“In my opinion the general manager has served 12 or 13 years in his term and it’s time to start fresh.
“He has already indicated to councillors that he is not interesting in renewing his contract when it expires in September.”
Cr Beyersdorf, who moved the rescission motion, said he did not understand the mayor’s motives.
“The general manager’s contract expires in September and it wasn’t going to be renewed, so it’s going to cost the council in excess of $100,000 to terminate his contract,” he said.
“When the mayor has been constantly talking about cutting costs, this is surprising.”
However, Cr Bishop said council “couldn’t afford not to” part ways with Mr Burns.
“I think it’s time for a change and a fresh start for the council,” he said.
Mr Burns is scheduled to take two weeks of annual leave from Friday.
The acting general manager will be chief financial officer Keith Lockyer.
