Logan City Council CEO Sharon Kelsey sacked amid CCC investigation

LOGAN City Council has taken the unprecedented step of voting to remove its chief executive officer Sharon Kelsey less than a year into her contract.

Logan City Council CEO Sharon Kelsey has been sacked at a special meeting of council.

LOGAN CITY Council has taken the unprecedented step of voting to remove its chief executive officer Sharon Kelsey less than a year into her contract.

Ms Kelsey was dismissed from the position she took up in June after a special council meeting on Wednesday.

The decision will be forwarded to Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

The meeting voted 7-5 to terminate her contract, which included a six-month probationary period, a contractual safeguard introduced after the premature departure of the previous CEO Andrew Milner in February last year.

A Logan City Council spokesman said the decision meant Ms Kelsey would not be appointed to the role of CEO.

Today’s vote followed last month’s full council meeting in which Ms Kelsey declared a real conflict of interest and left chambers before the council voted 8-5 to give the mayor executive powers to engage an outside consultant to hire staff.

As chief executive, it was Ms Kelsey’s role to hire executive staff which she did using Australian Local Government Job Directory.

Under the Local Government Regulation 2012, the LGAQ has been given some control over contracts with councils.

Ms Kelsey, the former head of Victoria’s independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, declined to comment after this afternoon’s meeting.

However, president of the newly formed Logan Ratepayers Association Rod Shaw said a community meeting would be convened to discuss the matter and raise it with Local Government Minister Hinchliffe.

A spokesman for the Minister said Mr Hinchliffe had no role in approving a council decision of this kind.

“As this is a matter in which the Crime and Corruption Commission has been involved, there will be no further comment.”

In a notice sent to all Logan councillors this week, they were warned of possible misconduct charges and dismissal if they revealed details of today’s meeting.

The LGAQ said Logan City Council sought and was given advice on the conduct of the meeting.

An LGAQ spokesman said claims that the LGAQ was opposed to the CEO after she employed people who were not recommended by LGAQ were entirely false.

Logan City councillor Jon Raven (Div 5), one of the five to vote against the call to sack Ms Kelsey, said it was an unusual move that had disheartened many in council ranks.

Community members hug CEO Sharon Kelsey after the vote was taken to sack her. PHOTO: JUDITH KERR

Council’s longest serving member of the executive leadership team Silvio Trinca, who is Director of Road and Water Infrastructure, has been appointed interim CEO, effective immediately until a suitable replacement is found.

The special meeting was chaired by Acting Mayor Cherie Dalley with all divisional councillors present.

Mayor Luke Smith was not present and did not participate in the vote.