‘Witch hunt’: City of Perth council sacks chief executive after confidential meeting

City of Perth chief executive Michelle Reynolds has been formally sacked following a behind-closed-doors council meeting on Tuesday night.

The council previously voted to suspend Reynolds from her duties in May following a confidential meeting by Local Government Inspector Tony Brown to discuss a report into claims levelled against the chief executive.

In a brief statement to media on Wednesday, Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds (no relation to Michelle), said the move to sack the chief executive was a “significant decision” that council “did not take lightly”.

“The investigation examined a range of matter relating to Ms Reynolds’ conduct in exercising her responsibilities as chief executive officers,” he said.

“Following careful consideration of the investigation findings, and Ms Reynolds’ responses, Council determined that the substantiated findings were sufficiently serious that her employment as chief executive officer should be terminated.

“I recognise that the community will want to understand more about council’s decision.

“However, this remains a confidential employment matter and there are legal, privacy, and confidentiality obligations that limit what council can appropriately discuss publicly.”

But Michelle Reynolds said the findings of the investigation and allegations against her were “nothing but a witch hunt designed to impinge my reputation and scapegoat me by an otherwise toxic council and likely cost the rate payers handsomely”.

She confirmed she intended to challenge the decision.

In a statement sent to this masthead, Michelle Reynolds said she had been shocked when she was informed of the decision late on Tuesday night via her lawyers, following a “protracted four-month investigation process”.

“It is particularly concerning that a local council presently the subject of an inquiry into their own governance issues, breaches of confidentiality and outright dysfunction, and who have been the subject of no less than 25 complaints since the start of this year, were permitted to make such an egregious decision,” she said.

“The allegations made against me are individually trivial in nature, however are alleged to collectively amount to serious misconduct. I disagree.

“The allegations and subsequent investigation process have exposed the factionalism between the views of elected members with personal agendas and the effective function of the administration of local government as a multimillion-dollar business.”

Michelle Reynolds said she held significant concerns regarding the initiation and conduct of the investigation, including the procurement process for the firm that conducted the investigation, and the conduct of certain council members.

“Those concerns include targeted leaks of confidential information to the media designed to defame me,” she said.

“The dysfunction and harmful behaviours at the City of Perth, in particular amongst the elected members, is no secret and having been bound by confidentiality throughout the investigation I am now able to speak freely about my experiences and challenging relationship with certain members of council and intend to do so.”

Speaking to media on Wednesday, Bruce Reynolds said he recognised it had been a “difficult and unsettling period for all concerned”.

“Our focus not is on providing certainty for our employees and ensuring the city continues to deliver for our community, business and visitors,” he said.

“Council will maintain interim leadership arrangements while we commence the recruitment process for a new chief executive officer.

“The current leadership has provided great stability during this time, and we will remain focused on working collaboratively to strengthen governance and workplace practices across the organisation.”

Michelle Reynolds was first appointed as chief executive in 2020, tasked with rebuilding ratepayer and stakeholder trust in the scandal-ridden council, which had been subject to a major inquiry after its former lord mayor and council were suspended in 2018.

However, in December 2025, a 30-page dossier was submitted by the chief executive to councillors.

The dossier, alongside an anonymous letter from alleged former employees, detailed an alleged toxic workplace culture, “punitive actions”, and severe internal conflict between executive management and elected members.

By January 2026, details of an independent workplace culture review laid bare an erosion of trust between the lord mayor’s office and executive staff, revealing a severe governance crisis within the administration.

Amid growing concerns over local government governance, the state government put the “dysfunctional” council on notice. During this period of heightened scrutiny, the council voted to suspend Michelle Reynolds from her position.

Last week, it was revealed the council would be subject to another inquiry at the hands of the local government inspector.

The revelation of the three-month, $120,000 inquiry came after the conclusion of a local government monitor’s term overseeing the council.

Perth was the first council to be allocated a monitor just two weeks into Brown’s role as the head local government watchdog at the start of the year.

“The City of Perth is the flagship local government of Western Australia, so it needs to be the leader in governance,” Brown said last week.

with Hamish Hastie