By MATT NICHOLLS
SHANE Burns could be out of a job in a matter of weeks after Armidale Dumaresq Council mayor Laurie Bishop used his casting vote on Friday night to start the process to terminate the general manager’s contract.
Mediation could prevent that happening, although it seems unlikely at this stage.
Mr Burns said he would only consider entering mediation with the mayor after Cr Bishop’s code of conduct complaint matters had been dealt with by Local Government NSW.
“I’m disappointed there has been no fairness or justice in the procedure,” Mr Burns said.
“The mayor has said publicly that the relationship between him and I has broken down, but has indicated that it had nothing to do with my performance.
“I’ll be saying that any mediation will only happen after the code of conduct complaints have been dealt with, as they are directly linked to the issues the mayor has with me.”
At a minimum, the code of conduct complaints against the mayor would take six weeks to address.
Mr Burns is on scheduled annual leave and is not expected to return to council until Monday, 10 February.
There is every chance that his contract could be terminated before March if he refuses immediate mediation.
Councillors closed Friday night’s extraordinary meeting to the public to discuss the mayoral minute put forward by Cr Bishop the previous Monday, which was delayed due to a rescission motion.
After more than four hours of discussion, councillors voted the same as they did on the Monday night, 5-5, with the mayor using his casting vote to uphold his motion.
Cr Bishop said because the relationship between him and the general manager had broken down, he felt the motion had to be upheld.
“I just see this as a stepping stone in a very long-term strategy to get Armidale back on track,” he said.
“If there is mediation I’ll be reliant on Local Government NSW, which is a very competent organisation.
“I feel that people who voted me into council wanted to see change and fresh people at the helm,” Cr Bishop said.
“I think it is appropriate to see change.”
Should Mr Burns have his contract terminated, he is likely to receive a six-figure payout.
Chief financial officer Keith Lockyer and executive director David Stellar would be the two obvious internal candidates to replace Mr Burns during the search for a new general manager. However, the Armidale Independent believes councillors will look to bring in an interim general manager from outside its current ranks.
Last week it was revealed by the United Services Union that council staff had made upwards of a dozen complaints regarding Cr Bishop’s conduct.
“They are feeling he is not supporting them in how they do their job,” local government union organiser Chris Preston said.
Cr Bishop said he was confident of clearing his name through the code of conduct proceedings.
“I have spoken to a legal firm to get advice and I plan on vigorously defending the code of conduct complaints against me,” he said.
“I will also be examining whether the rules and regulations of the code of conduct have been breached, as well as possible defamation.”
