With the exception of Cr Kevin Parker, Dubbo Regional Council’s elected civic representatives were largely keeping quiet in relation to the mutual arrangement reached with general manager Mark Riley that will ultimately see him removed from the position on Monday night.
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A couple of hours after Cr Parker appeared on ABC Radio on Friday morning, a series of questions was put to each of the 10 councillors in an attempt to delve further into the reasoning behind Mr Riley’s removal.
As he did on Thursday when the issue first arose, Mayor Ben Shields said he couldn’t comment on the matter until council had met on Monday night.
Councillor Greg Mohr replied, stating that “as per the Local Government policy, as a councillor I can’t give comment regarding staffing matters.”
Similar comments were trotted out by Cr John Ryan, while Cr Jane Diffey called to explain that she too would not comment on the issue.
Cr Stephen Lawrence replied by saying “I appreciate the community interest in this matter but the code of conduct applicable to councillors under state law prevents me from making any public comment about employment matters of this nature. I look forward to continuing to work closely with all my colleagues on council and making our community the best place to live that it can be for all residents".
Cr Parker said he couldn’t answer the questions has he had not been invited to a supposed meeting he had earlier alluded to on the radio, and had no knowledge of any plans that may have been in place.
Cr David Grant made minimal comment on the issue, only to say he hadn’t been involved in any meetings where the potential removal of the general manager had been raised, and that he had only been made aware of the outcome of a meeting between a delegation of councillors and Mr Riley after the actual event had occurred.
Crs Anne Jones, Vicki Etheridge and Dayne Gumley have not replied to the questions.
As it stands, the official line is that Mr Riley is on leave but it is expected that his position will be discussed further at Monday night’s meeting of Dubbo City Council.
Infrastructure and Operations Director Chris Devitt is acting as the interim general manager.
The move comes just five months after former council administrator Michael Kneipp extended Mr Riley’s contract for a three-year period, with his total remuneration package for the first year being $305,000.
It is expected that rather than the matter be a sacking or a resignation, it will be done by mutual consent which will allow Mr Riley to receive payout upon finalisation of the matter.
