Ku-ring-gai Council general manager performance review to be debated by councillors

A Sydney council is at loggerheads with a fourth straight meeting cancelled over the non-appearance of half of councillors – all at a cost to the ratepayer.

UPDATE

Councillors keen to discuss the performance of Ku-ring-gai Council’s general manager may be hoping it’s a case of fifth time lucky after a fourth meeting to debate the matter had to be adjourned because not enough councillors turned up.

It was a case of deja vu at an extraordinary council meeting called on Friday night after five of Ku-ring-gai’s 10 councillors did not attend – one short of the minimum six number required for the meeting to proceed.

The meeting was the fourth time councillors were convened to debate a notice of motion by councillors Christine Kay and Peter Kelly that seeks to review the council’s general manager John McKee’s contract of employment.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Cedric Spencer had to adjourn the meeting.

The motion states: “the management style and culture of this council under the general manager must be reviewed” and calls for the “contract for employment of the general manager be reviewed immediately” and the “current management and culture of the council be restructured to better serve the elected body.”

The five councillors who were absent at Friday’s meeting were the same five who provided apologies for the three prior extraordinary meetings last Friday and Sunday to discuss the same motion – Jennifer Anderson, Callum Clarke, Donna Greenfield, Martin Smith and Cheryl Szatow.

The five councillors who did appear on Friday night – Christine Kay, Peter Kelly, Sam Ngai, Jeff Pettett and Cedric Spencer – had each attended the previous three meetings but instead of debating the general’s manager performance were instead left to lament the lack of meeting quorum.

Councillor Jennifer Anderson and general manager John McKee pictured at Turramurra in 2017.

Councillor Sam Ngai, who was one of three who dialled in to the meeting remotely, asked what reason was given for the lack of attendance, to which the meeting heard Crs Anderson, Clarke, Smith and Szatow had provided written apologies stating they prior commitments or prior engagements, and Cr Greenfield in a written apology said she had a personal commitment.

“They must be very busy,” Cr Ngai replied.

Another extraordinary council meeting has been called for tonight.

Also in attendance at Friday night’s council meeting in Gordon was a corporate lawyer, a council director, IT staff who had to set up Zoom conference arrangements, administration staff, and security guards posted outside the building

The North Shore Times understands that prior to the meeting, staff had anticipated the meeting would have to be postponed due to lack of quorum and requested a weekday adjournment date to avoid a repeat of last weekend when staff had to drive to the chambers only for the meetings to be postponed.

It all comes after the general’s manager’s performance review was endorsed at an August council meeting along with an amendment for consideration to increase the general manager’s salary at the conclusion of the 2022 review in lieu of increases waived during 2019-20 and 2020-21 to bring the remuneration back to relativity.

The Ku-ring-gai chamber building in Gordon.

The five councillors who supported the amendment were the five councillors who have not appeared at the four extraordinary meetings. Cr Jennifer Anderson, who served as mayor at the time of the August meting, used her casting vote to carry the amendment.

A month after that meeting, Cr Spencer was elected mayor following a five-five vote by councillors, resulting in a ballot having to be drawn to determine the victor.

Councillors who supported Cr Anderson in the mayoral vote were Clarke, Greenfield, Smith and Szatow, and those in favour of Spencer were Kay, Kelly, Ngai and Pettett.

Cr Spencer, who now enjoys the mayoral casting vote in scenarios where votes are locked at 5-5, said he was determined to have the extraordinary meeting agenda “dealt with” but recognised there was a “divide” on the council.

Cr Jennifer Anderson.

“There’s long been a suggestion that there’s a split between the councillors and that’s quite obvious given what’s occurred over the last week,” he said.

“I think it’s important to have (the notice of motion) properly debated so when new councillors come on board following December elections the council is properly set up for them.”

Councillor Jennifer Anderson told the North Shore Times she was “not aware of any urgent or pressing reason why an extraordinary meeting is required at this time on this topic”, noting the general manager’s performance review was conducted less than four months ago and had received a “more than satisfactory” marking with a rating of 3.76.

Councillor Jeff Pettett.

Councillor Sam Ngai.

“The general manager, Mr McKee, has successfully served with five different Ku-ring-gai mayors during his tenure, prior to the sixth, being Mayor Spencer, who has a total term of ten weeks as mayor, seven remaining” she said in a statement last week.

“Under normal procedures, the next performance review would be conducted in 2022 by the incoming council following the December 4 local government elections, not at an extraordinary meeting in the last weeks of a council’s term.”

Councillor Jeff Pettett, in brief comments to Friday’s meeting, said he believed it was “beholden” on councillors “to attend as many meetings as possible”.

“It’s very hard to go to an election to say to prospective voters ‘vote for me and I’ll only attend the meeting where I like the agenda items’ – whether that’s true or not I’ll leave that up to the residents,” he said.

All councillors are scheduled to attend a general council meeting tomorrow night to debate 33 agenda items ranging from Gordon streetscape upgrades, to climate change and noisy trucks on the Pacific Hwy.

EARLIER

BY DAVID BARWELL ON OCTOBER 12, 2021

Ku-ring-gai councillors are set to vote on reviewing the general manager’s contract of employment at a confidential meeting this week.

An extraordinary council meeting has been called for Friday night to review the appointment of the council’s general manager John McKee after three other meetings to discuss the matter had to be called off because not enough councillors showed up.

The three meetings were called for 7pm on Friday, 1pm on Sunday and 7pm on Sunday.

On each occasion, Mayor Cedric Spencer adjourned the sessions because five of the 10 councillors provided written apologies for not being able to attend – one short of the six person minimum requirement to meet quorum.

Ku-ring-gai Mayor Cedric Spencer.

On the agenda for this Friday’s meeting is a single notice of motion by councillors Christine Kay and Peter Kelly that states “the management style and culture of this council under the general manager must be reviewed.”

The motion calls for the “contract for employment of the general manager be reviewed immediately” and the “current management and culture of the council be restructured to better serve the elected body.”

The meeting has caused concern among some community groups after the general manager had his 2020-21 annual performance review endorsed at a council meeting in August with the review finding his performance was “more than satisfactory”.

Councillor Jennifer Anderson.

Councillors at that meeting voted 5-5 in supporting the review, with then Mayor Jennifer Anderson using her casting vote to get it over the line.

The five councillors who supported the review were the same five who did not appear at the three council meetings on Friday and Sunday – Jennifer Anderson, Callum Clarke, Donna Greenfield, Martin Smith and Cheryl Szatow, while the five councillors who showed up were the same five who opposed it – Christine Kay, Peter Kelly, Sam Ngai, Jeff Pettett and Cedric Spencer.

Cedric Spencer, who was elected mayor at another council meeting in September, told the North Shore Times the intention of the meeting was “not to oust” the general manager but to revisit the performance review and discuss the possibility of setting new KPI targets and establishing a general manager performance review committee.

The council’s general manager John McKee

He said new KPIs could include a measure scoping the satisfaction of ratepayers in the council region.

“The general manager is a high paying position and as the governing body we should all able to reassess his performance,” he said

“There’s nothing in the motion to replace him, we just wanted to look at new KPIs, a new review committee consistent with Office of Local Government guidelines, and create more transparency. It’s not a clandestine attack.”.

Cr Jennifer Anderson has raised concerns on the timing of the meeting ahead of December’s local council elections and three weeks before the council is placed in caretaker mode.

Ku-ring-gai councillor Martin Smith.

“The general manager’s performance review was conducted only recently, in July 2021. Under normal procedures, the next performance review would be conducted in 2022 by the incoming council following the December 4 election,” she said in a statement.

Councillor Martin Smith said the meeting was “political” and another sign of the 5-5 split among councillors.

“It’s very concerning that we had a performance review where the general manager got a more than satisfactory rating only to now be asked to have it redebated at extraordinary council meetings in a rapid fire approach on a weekend,” he said.

“It’s evident there are two separate groups on council and it seems Group B is determined to have this matter dealt with again.”

Some community groups have issued statements on the meeting including Friends of Ku-ring-gai which said there was “no urgent reason for such an extraordinary meeting to be called at this time”.

Friday’s meeting has been scheduled for 7pm but it remains unclear whether enough councillors will again turn up for it to go ahead.