'Not unlawful': Inspectorate probe into Warrnambool council appointment concludes

Sparked by four separate complaints over 20 months, the investigation by the Local Government Inspectorate ultimately found former community development director Vikki King did not undertake any unlawful activities.

But the investigation did make a series of recommendations about tightening up policies around the appointment of senior staff.

Ms King's reappointment to her job as a director was made during the time she had also taken on the acting chief executive officer position after the controversial sacking of then CEO Peter Schneider in July 2020.

With her five-year contract due to expire within weeks of filling the dual roles, she was reappointed to her director position for a further five years.

Current CEO Andrew Mason said he was unsure why the letter - dated June 1, 2022 - had not yet been tabled at an open council meeting despite it stating "the recommendations in this letter should be tabled at the next open council meeting".

Mr Mason said for governance and transparency reasons he was just making sure it was completed.

He said effectively the inspectorate explored the possibility of a misuse of position by Ms King in relation to her appointment.

"There was a somewhat convoluted process gone through to appoint someone as an acting CEO to effectively sign off on her contract extension," he said.

But despite complaints, the inspectorate investigation concluded that no breach or offence of the Local Government Act had occurred.

"It has been decided that Vikki King has not undertaken any unlawful activities," the inspectorate says.

The finding in 2022 came almost a year after she had stepped down from her position as director in June 2021.

Ms King's term as acting CEO had ended a month prior in May 2021 when another acting CEO was installed - an appointment which lasted just weeks after a Supreme Court decision in June 2021 returned Mr Schneider to his old job.

Three of the complaints were made shortly after the reappointment on August 16, September 14 and November 18 in 2020. A fourth complaint was lodged April 12, 2022.

The letter outlined how Ms King delegated her CEO powers to a part-time staff member to reappoint her to the director role after three senior staff members said they did not "feel comfortable" accepting the delegations.

"There is an argument to suggest that Vikki King made reasonable attempts to have a director accept the delegations before turning to a less senior member of staff," the inspectorate says. The staff member had made the decision to reappoint Ms King based on the conclusion of an independent report.

The inspectorate investigation did find some "shortcomings" of council and among five recommendations handed down was to have a policy for reviewing and adequately documenting the performance of senior staff.

Council should also devise a policy about the reappointment of senior staff, and define which staff members could accept CEO delegations in certain circumstances. Procurement and tender policies should also be updated.

A copy of the letter is in Monday's meeting agenda.

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