ALL Gawler councillors will be able to meet with the external company reviewing chief executive officer Henry Inat’s performance, in a move one elected member hopes will increase transparency.
At council’s ordinary meeting last Tuesday, councillor Nathan Shanks moved a motion to open up a meeting between Gawler Council’s CEO Performance Management Panel (PMP) and the external consultant, which will undertake a review of Mr Inat’s role, to all elected members.
In the past, councillors not sitting on the CEO PMP did not participate in meetings with the consultant, but Cr Shanks said controversy surrounding a leaked report which revealed Mr Inat recommended a pay rise and use of a luxury 4WD for himself, two years before the expiration of his contract meant all councillors should be kept updated on the review process.
Later, it was also revealed he applied for the previously-vacant Playford Council job, despite Mr Inat saying in the leaked report the council “…would be best placed if I continue in the CEO role over the coming period…”.
The move was slammed by Member for Light Tony Piccolo who said it was a ploy from Mr Inat to shore up his salary before new local government reforms forced his salary to be set by an independent umpire.
During debate on his motion, Cr Shanks said, “We copped a bit of flack and there is a lot of heat around this.”
“The overall attempt here is only to bring all us elected members all onto the same page,” he said.
“If we’ve engaged a consultant, for our own sense of security and our own knowledge, I think it’s in the community’s best interest to know how that was engaged and how that process is to be undertaken.
“I would just really like it if all councillors came to that meeting and listened to that presentation in real time.”
Also as part of the motion, Cr Shanks was added to the CEO PMP, with the first-time elected member saying he wanted to “put his money where his mouth is”.
During debate, councillors David Hughes and Paul Koch questioned whether the motion was necessary, arguing elected members can attend the meeting if they wished.
In response, Cr Shanks said Mr Inat told him it “wasn’t regular” for non-CEO PMP members to attend the meeting and that they would only be “spectators”.
“I just want to be on the same page as all my colleagues. I did want to have something in there that makes it obvious that we are all invited to attend.
“That’s where I tried to make it a bit different there by saying all council members are invited to the CEO PMP to hear the presentation from the engaged consultant.”
