City of Greater Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter cuts short finals months at City Hall

Geelong’s resigning chief executive will be “jumping ship” earlier than expected, cutting short his three-month notice period by almost a full month.

Geelong resigning chief executive Martin Cutter will be “jumping ship” earlier than expected, cutting short his three-month notice period by almost a full month.

The City of Greater Geelong on Tuesday confirmed Mr Cutter’s final day at the city would be Friday, September 2, despite its only public announcement in July suggesting he would depart at the end of September.

A city source on Monday said the chief executive had told the city he would leave at the end of the week, where his previous expected final day would have seen him remain at the city for the release of its Annual Financial Report on September 20 and the expected final move-in of staff into the new $102m Wurriki Nyal civic headquarters later this month.

Geelong CEO Martin Cutter has fast-tracked his resignation. Picture: Alan Barber

“[Mr Cutter is] Jumping ship earlier than he publicly announced and before his legacy project the new HQ is officially opened – not even staying around for that,” the source claimed.

Mr Cutter on Tuesday said he was “delighted” city director Kaarina Phyland had been appointed acting chief executive and thanked councillors and city staff for their support during his tenure.

“With my comprehensive handover to Kaarina already well progressed and our employees’ move to Wurriki Nyal to be complete as of next Monday, I feel comfortable and confident that it’s the right time for me to step away,” Mr Cutter said, when asked why he decided to leave earlier than previously announced.

Mr Cutter in July issued a statement revealing he would step down from his role at the end of September, despite there being another year left on his contract – worth up to $440,000 annually.

In his statement, Mr Cutter did not give any reason for ending his tenure, other than it was “the right time” and “a time in my life where I can turn to focus on personal pursuits”.

Mr Cutter’s resignation from the city comes as questions remain over the financial viability of the city’s new six-storey Wurriki Nyal civic precinct building, the $102m headline project in the city’s largest-ever capital works spend.

The city has so far been unable to confirm whether it had secured tenants for 2200sq m of office space or multiple ground floor retail tenancies in the building – with the income from tenancies expected to offset costs of the major project.

And neither the city nor its project partner Quintessential Equity (QE) have yet confirmed QE had purchased land at 20 Gheringhap St to build the planned office tower pitched as part of the major project – the sale of which was also set to bolster the city’s coffers.

The organisations’ silence on the sale also came as both the city and QE declined to say whether the sale of the land had been deferred.

Councillor Anthony Aitken – who has previously warned against the city’s ownership of the building – in July said the financial viability of the project needed to be questioned.

“As chair of the finance portfolio at Council it disappoints me that the financial sustainability of the new admin building is compromised because the promised tenancy targets have not been met,” Cr Aitken said.

“The Council officers ultimately accountable for this financial concern have resigned (Martin Cutter and Director Michael Dugina). It is my belief that the financial viability of the new admin building will need to be referred to the new CEO as a priority when that person is appointed.

“If the tenancies can’t be met and Stage 2 Quintessential development does not proceed, the project will be a major burden on the Geelong community.”\

Originally published as City of Greater Geelong chief executive Martin Cutter cuts short finals months at City Hall