Whittlesea Council appoint Kelvin Spiller as acting chief executive
Damning allegations of bullying have been made as Whittlesea Council chief executive Simon Overland takes time off from the job to concentrate on his health. But can the acting boss bring stability to the chaos?
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Council troubleshooter Kelvin Spiller will “carefully review” the circumstances which led to Simon Overland’s controversial decision to step away as Whittlesea Council boss.
The former police chief commissioner announced on Wednesday he would be taking an indefinite leave, citing “health and safety” reasons and “difficult” working conditions.
It comes just days before Mr Overland is due to take the stand at the Lawyer X royal commission.
And while some councillors are positive interim chief executive Mr Spiller could bring stability, others said Mr Overland’s shock decision to take leave had left staff “in the dark”.
In a statement, Mayor Emilia Sterjova said Mr Spiller would “waste no time getting started”.
The acting chief executive has held eight similar roles, six of which were in local government, including at the Rural City of Wangaratta, City of Greater Geelong and the Mornington Peninsula Council.
“Kelvin is looking forward to meeting with members of the community in the days ahead and I hope everyone will warmly welcome him to Whittlesea,” Cr Sterjova said.
Cr Sam Alessi urged councillors to “pull their heads in” while Mr Spiller deals with the fallout of Mr Overland’s decision to take leave.
“It’s very disappointing Simon had to leave temporarily under those circumstances,” he said.
“The behaviour towards senior staff has been appalling by some councillors.”
Cr Alessi told the Leader senior staff had been intimidated, cross-examined and even interrogated by some councillors during past council meetings.
He said Mr Overland was trying to stop this behaviour.
“Hopefully we can continue to implement the agenda Simon was trying to implement in the time Kelvin is with us and that could be a day, week or a year — we don’t know,” he said.
Cr Caz Monteleone said Mr Spiller had already asked councillors for the top three issues they thought required immediate attention.
“I’ve mentioned transparency, accountability and good governance as my top three because these have been lacking at Whittlesea Council,” he said.
“But the interim chief executive brings years of experience and I am confident he will bring stability to council’s operations.”
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Another Whittlesea councillor, who refused to be named, claimed staff had no prior knowledge of Mr Overland’s distress at council, and were searching for answers.
“I first found out about Simon stepping away through you (Whittlesea Leader) and other councillors are in the same boat,” they said.
Whittlesea Council appointed Mr Spiller at an urgent meeting on Saturday morning.
Mr Spiller has been contacted for comment.