Burnside council chief executive Paul Deb sacked without notice

The chief executive of one of the most prestigious and troubled Adelaide councils has been terminated from his $220,000 a year position without warning.

Burnside chief executive Paul Deb has been dismissed without notice and his lawyer has vowed to fight the dismissal.

Burnside chief executive Paul Deb has been dismissed without notice following allegations he made negative comments about councillors.

Mr Deb, who had held the position since 2011, arrived home on Thursday evening to find a letter from the council instructing him that he had been removed from his role.

Burnside Anne Monceaux. Picture Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Deb’s lawyer Greg Griffin has vowed to fight the dismissal, telling The Advertiser that the matter will be before the Supreme Court as early as Tuesday next week.

Mr Deb is understood to have been stood down following reports from a council employee that he had made negative and unfavourable comments about councillors in an executive committee meeting.

Burnside Mayor Anne Monceaux said on Thursday evening that she could not provide any information on the dismissal.

The employee who made the complaint against Mr Deb had previously been sanctioned by the chief executive.

Mr Deb sought the opinion of an industrial barrister to discuss the extent of any sanctions and had imposed a penalty less than what had been recommended.

Following the sanctions, councillors began putting pressure on Mr Deb to remove the penalties.

The elected members then overruled the sanctions prompting Mr Deb to seek advice from Mr Griffin as to whether the move was lawful.

The conclusion of Mr Griffin, which was confirmed by senior counsel, is that it was unlawful for the council members to lift restrictions on Mr Deb’s staff.

“The conclusion was that council did not have the power to interfere in the manner in which Mr Deb had dealt with issue,” Mr Griffin said

Following a secret meeting of the council Mr Deb had his employment terminated without notice.

Burnside Council has previously been labelled as having a “terrible culture” and has been the target of several investigations including by the State Ombudsman.

Former councillor Lance Bagster was found to have “bullied and harassed” several council officers, including then mayor David Parkin, for a period of eight months.

Ombudsman Wayne Lines found Mr Bagster had committed 12 acts of misconduct which he labelled an “appalling course of behaviour.”

In 2016, prior to the Ombudsman’s investigation, a leaked email chain showed Mr Deb questioning the mental health of Mr Bagster and accusing him of bullying and harassment.

Mr Deb himself became the subject of an internal inquiry ordered by the council and run by an Adelaide law firm which found that he had failed to act in a professional and reasonable way.

Mr Lines declined to investigate further, concluding that the matter was beyond the scope of his jurisdiction.