City of Parramatta Council fires CEO Gail Connolly amid internal tensions
City of Parramatta CEO Gail Connolly has broken her silence following her abrupt dumping in a heated late-night council meeting, saying she was proud of her contribution and what she achieved “despite the turbulence”.
Former Parramatta Council chief executive Gail Connolly has spoken out following an abrupt termination of her contract during a heated late-night meeting.
In a statement sent on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Connolly said she was proud of her work since she was appointed in 2023, to transform the council as western Sydney’s global city and “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved in the past two and a half years”.
“Leading a major policy, planning and service delivery organisation is not for the faint-hearted.
“In public life, leaders have a duty not to remain silent on issues such as inappropriate behaviour and corruption. I encourage my local government colleagues to continue to speak out for the health of the sector and for our local communities.’’
Ms Connolly said over the past two years the organisation faced significant leadership challenges, including the election of four different Lord Mayors and several councillor resignations.
“Yet despite the turbulence, we worked together to build a strong and resilient organisation that has been recognised as an employer of choice and a leader in workplace reform,’’ she said.
“Staff satisfaction levels have almost doubled to record levels, the average length of tenure of employees increased substantially, and a culture of performance and wellbeing has now been embedded.’’
She said staff turnover had reduced from more than 19 per cent to 12 per cent during her tenure and the council had won more human resources and industry awards than any other council over the past two years.
Nine councillors voted in favour of her dismissal, three objected to it and three abstained from voting, highlighting previous controversies, including claims of inappropriate comments to staff and a court ruling that she withheld documents from councillors.
The move came while Ms Connolly, who is on a $515,000 annual salary, was reportedly on sick leave and due to return on Thursday. He contract does not expire until April 2027.
Ms Connolly had been in the role since 2023, but her appointment was controversial from the outset and had been referred to the Office of Local Government.
The sacking follows a dramatic year for the council. Independent councillor Kellie Darley had a major win against the council in the NSW Supreme Court in August when her censure for criticising its $1.1m deal with the Eels NRL club was quashed.
In July, ICAC officers raided the council’s administration offices in Wentworth St and seized senior staff’s mobile phones shortly before a council meeting.
In a statement Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter said George Bounassif would continue as acting chief executive.
“Council also resolved to appoint executive director of city services and projects, George Bounassif, as acting CEO while the recruitment process commences for a new CEO,’’ he said.
“I would like to assure our community and ratepayers that our councillors, executive team and staff remain committed to delivering on our services and commitments and making the City of Parramatta the best place to live work and play.”
Liberal councillor Steven Issa and independent Kellie Darley moved a motion to terminate Ms Connolly’s contract.
Along with the pair, Cr Zaiter, Tanya Raffoul, Sameer Pandey, Judy Greenwood, Sreeni Pillamarri, Manning Jeffrey and Charles Chen supported the termination.
Cr Pandey was the only Labor councillor to support the sacking with his cohorts Anthony Ellard, Michael Ng and Patricia Prociv voting against the sacking.
Councillors Georgina Valjak, Hayley French and Cameron MacLean abstained from the vote.
“Ms Connolly’s passion, dedication and advocacy for the City of Parramatta is well known,’’ Liberal councillor Valjak said.
“She was instrumental in shaping the award winning strategy for our 2050 vision and I thank her for her dedicated service to our great city.’’
Councillors Issa and Darley declined to comment further.
Labor councillor Patricia Prociv was “very disappointed” following the decision.
“Gail brought a lot to our city, we achieved a lot under her guidance,’’ she said on Tuesday morning.
“I think the city grew, as a councillor I gained a lot of knowledge from her expertise and government. I think the city will be a loser here ... she just didn’t come to work every day, she embraced the city and I think the city embraced her.’’
Cr Prociv was also frustrated the decision was made in a confidential session.
“I understand that it went into confidential under the Local Government Act but I think a decision like this should have been done in open council with transparency because that is something spoken about non stop,’’ she said.
Cr Pandey supported Ms Connolly’s exit “based on recent events” over the “past few months”.
it is unfortunate what has happened but its a series of events reported in the media,’’ he said.
“It’s a difficult decision but I think that’s what is best for the city at this stage.’’
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Originally published as City of Parramatta Council fires CEO Gail Connolly amid internal tensions
