Geelong council unveils new executive team as it seeks unity and strives to become top local government in Australia

One existing employee is among four new executive directors as the City of Greater Geelong seeks stability and unity following a period of unrest.

New team: City of Greater Geelong chief executive Ali Wastie. Photo: Mark Wilson.

Geelong council has started afresh with the appointment of four new executives who chief executive Ali Wastie believe will lead Geelong council into an era of unity.

The only existing City of Greater Geelong employee to secure one of the influential and highly paid positions was Tennille Bradley.

Having only joined City Hall in July last year in a managerial role, she will now oversee the placemaking directorate.

James Stirton will reunite with Ms Wastie, his former boss at Bass Coast Shire, as head of city infrastructure.

Troy Edwards will move from the Municipal Association of Victoria to head up corporate services, while East Gippsland Shire Council chief executive Anthony Basford will take on city life.

Each of the executive directors are employed on an annual salary well in excess of $200,000.

Long-serving executive directors Robyn Stevens and Gareth Smith will finish up this week.

Long-serving executive Robyn Stevens will leave the City of Greater Geelong this week.

In exactly her 100th day in the job, Ms Wastie said the recruitment process, overseen by consultants AMROP Carmichael Fisher, was highly competitive.

“One of my first priorities as chief executive was to establish a strong, united executive team ready to deliver for our community and employees,” she said in a statement.

“We’ve searched for the best people to invigorate our culture and meet our promise of being a high performing organisation, and we are delighted to have secured four experienced leaders of such a high calibre.”

The decision to cut the number of directorates from five to four was made in October, at which time Ms Wastie set the lofty goal of Geelong becoming the highest performing local government in the country.

It emerged at last week’s council meeting that City Hall had saved $848,000 on salaries, wages and labour in the first quarter of the financial year due to a large number of job vacancies throughout the organisation.

“We need to weigh up if this is having an impact on our services to the community, hopefully not, but these (vacancies) are red flags as such through the organisation,” councillor Bruce Harwood said.

“Absurd”: Bev McArthur has hit out at the ongoing role of council monitors at Geelong council. Photo: Alison Wynd.

Meanwhile, Geelong-based Liberal MP Bev McArthur has labelled the ongoing role of council monitors as “an outrageous waste of Geelong ratepayers’ money”.

Her comments come after she asked Local Government Minister Melissa Horne why Peter Dorling and Prue Digby remained in the $1296-a-day roles months after the appointment of Ms Wastie.

“Geelong council was without a permanent CEO for over a year and three mayors have led the city over a similar period,” Ms Horne responded.

“As such, the municipal monitors continue to oversee the establishment of a strong working relationship between the CEO and council.”

Ms McArthur described that reasoning as “absurd”.

“Any CEO worth their salt should be able to establish their own working relationship with the councillors who employ them,” she said.

“If not, they shouldn’t have been employed in the first place.”

Originally published as Geelong council unveils new executive team as it seeks unity and strives to become top local government in Australia