Wingecarribee Council: residents’ bid to stop appointment of new manager ahead of election

The troubled Wingecarribee council has been accused of acting ‘like Trump’ by pushing ahead with a major appointment.

Hundreds of Southern Highlands ratepayers want the trouble-plagued Wingecarribee Shire Council to hold off appointing a new general manager until after local government elections in September.

Friends of Wingecarribee president Adam Jacobson last week started a peition calling on parliament to defer filling role until after ratepayers go to the polls.

The council has been without a top manager since July last year, when Ann Prendergast left the job amid allegations of workplace bullying. Barry Paull has been acting in the role since her sudden departure.

Mr Jacobson said he had major concerns about the current council appointing a permenant replacement.

“The concern is around the moral and democratic problems with the current council,” he said.

Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock late last year told the council to lift its game, issuing it with a performance improvement order.

Mr Jacobsen said there was no reason Mr Paull couldn’t keep acting as general manager until after voters had their chance to vote for a new council.

He said that the previous request for deferral in a letter to the Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock signed by 10 community groups has been ignored.

Former GM Ann Prendergast left in July under "mutual agreement" with Mayor Gair. Photo: WSC

The petition closed on Wednesday, and had attracted more than 500 signatories.

Mayor Duncan Gair previously said council could not leave the general manager remain vacant.

But the Local Government Act doesn’t prevent council from voting to defer appointing it’s most senior bureaucrat.

Councillor Peter Nelson said council would appoint a general manager despite hundreds of ratepayers signing the petition.

“They can petition as much as they like, it’s not to change anything. The General Manager is going to be appointed by this council,” he said.

Cr Nelson is adamant that the current council are the best equipped and most experienced panel to select a capable General Manager for the region. He noted the councillors are also aided by a Local Government NSW representative.

“There is no way the council will pay attention to the petition. Why would we leave it to inexperienced councillors to appoint a manager?” he said.

Local resident Rachel Russell is taking her dissatisfaction a step further by organising a rally this Saturday in Moss Vale, hoping to convice the council to wait until after the election.

“When things are still on paper, it doesn’t quite have that same impression as actual people showing up,” Ms Russell said.

“People care enough about this and the integrity of the process and the future of our Shire to show up in the gardens.”

She likened the council’s attempt to hire a General Manager to the desperate power grab of the former US President.

“This is akin to Donald Trump appointing Supreme Court Justices in the dying days of his presidency,” she said.

Ms Russell is running for election in September, and says that new perspective is necessary in local government.

The Wingecarribee Shire Council chambers in Moss Vale. Photo: WSC

“We are not going to get the candidate that we need under these conditions.”

Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said that she will consider community’s views.

“Petitions can be quite rightly and justifiably angry about the performance of their councils, but sometimes it’s not necessarily warranted or justified,” Ms Hancock said.

“I will have a briefing tomorrow to see how we are going with the petition and see if there is any truth to the allegations.”

When asked about the petition and the planned rally, the council reaffirmed the right of the community to discuss their issues.

“Residents concerned at the recruitment process are free to voice their concerns however they feel appropriate,” a spokesman said.