Northern Beaches Council CEO Mark Ferguson to step down
The boss of the State’s fourth largest council was expected to stand down from his position on Tuesday night.
Manly
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NEGOTIATIONS were set to take place behind closed doors at a council meeting on Tuesday night to release chief executive officer Mark Ferguson from his contract.
The emergency mayoral minute was to be added to the council’s closed session at the meeting, scheduled as a make-up after councillors did not finish all items the week before.
The CEO, who last month celebrated 40 years in local government, declined to comment on Tuesday. He is believed to be on contract until September 2020 with an annual salary of about $450,000.
The circumstances behind the expected exit are not clear.
“If the CEO resigns of his own accord, contractually he gets four weeks pay and nothing more,” one council source said on Tuesday. “If councillors vote to remove him, he gets 38 weeks pay. My understanding is that councillors are being asked to approve a 38-week payout.”
The outcome depended on how the 15-person council would vote on Tuesday night. The movements have led a number of councillors to question the amount of information they were given. Asked for comment, Liberal councillors Pat Daley, Dave Walton and Rory Amon all questioned Mayor, Michael Regan’s dissemination of information.
Cr Walton said: “All I can say is I have got concerns over the process. I don’t have enough information to make an informed business decision.”
He said he hoped for more information at the meeting.
Cr Daley accused some of his peers of having an “agenda” to “get rid of Mark Ferguson from the first day this new council was elected”.
“I believe that he hasn’t been given a fair go and I also now believe the performance of the mayor himself needs to be put well and truly under the spotlight,” Cr Daley said.
He said there had been a “total lack of information” given to him ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting.
“It would appear that certain councillors have received more information,” he said.
He was backed up by Cr Amon who said: “The Mayor has serious questions to answer. Did he tell the CEO that the majority of councillors had lost confidence in the CEO to secure the CEO’s departure?”
Cr Amon moved to defend Mr Ferguson. “Our new council is not perfect, but it’s getting a lot done and the CEO gets a lot of the credit for that,” he said. “As an organisation, we’ve just left port and it seems to me like some want to throw the captain overboard because they’re not entirely happy with the route we’re taking.
“Now we’ll be left without an organisational leader in one of the most important stages of our development.”
In a statement to the Manly Daily on Tuesday Cr Regan said: “I want to reassure the community that I will always act with the utmost integrity and in their best interests.
“All councillors will be presented with detailed information at tonight’s (Tuesday) council meeting and will have the opportunity to share their views before a decision of council is made.
“This is in accordance with local government protocols and is the appropriate way the matter should be handled.
“It is disappointing that some councillors have sought to politicise this sensitive process.”
Mr Ferguson took the helm at Pittwater Council in September 2005. He was made CEO of Northern Beaches Council by former administrator Dick Persson.