Campaspe Shire Mayor Chrissy Weller said it was a matter of timing, nothing else, that prevented the CEO Performance Plan from being included in the regular meeting agenda.
The unscheduled meeting of council contained just the one agenda item — listed as CEO Performance Plan — and was conducted in confidential business.
There is no public information available from the meeting, which is not unusual considering it potentially related to financial matters and contractual agreements between the council and the chief executive.
Performance reviews of chief executives within local government organisations are not unusual, but the wording of the agenda item did not indicate it was a review of the chief executive’s performance.
The Free Press was unable to ascertain whether the CEO Performance Plan was something that had been put in place at some stage during the past two and a half years of Declan Moore being in the role.
Cr Weller did indicate it was a regular part of council to discuss the chief executive’s performance against key performance indicators identified by the council.
Under the local government act it is a requirement of councils to conduct a performance review at least every 12 months.
Mr Moore was appointed to the chief executive role at Campaspe Shire in August 2019, having been working as a regional director in the health sector in Ireland.
He had previously held a number of senior roles in a 13-year career with the City of West Torrens, South Australia.
It may well be that the meeting was simply a review of what the chief executive had achieved in the past 12 months and what the plan was for the 12 months ahead.
Mr Moore’s total remuneration package was made public last year — totalling $315,000, inclusive of salary, superannuation and contribution for private use of a council vehicle.
Interestingly, across the river the Murray River Council has just completed its performance review of its own most senior ranking officer, Terry Dodds.
Cr Weller said the minutes from the confidential meeting, as was the case with closed meetings, would not be made available to the public.
She said with the delivery of the 2022-23 draft budget, along with the completion of Town-Facility Plans and Place-Based Plans, it was a busy time for the council.
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