City of Perth brings back former boss after council sacks CEO

The City of Perth has brought back a former chief executive to fill the vacant role left by Michelle Reynolds after she was sacked by the council.

At a special meeting on Tuesday night, the council endorsed the 12-month appointment of Garry Hunt while the search for a permanent replacement progressed.

Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds said the council was “pleased to appoint an experienced and capable leader” to guide the organisation.

“Dr Hunt brings an exceptional depth of experience, a proven record of leadership and a strong understanding of the City of Perth, having previously led the organisation,” Reynolds said in a statement on Wednesday.

“With more than 30 years of experience as a local government CEO, including leading the cities of Perth, Joondalup and Melville, his ability to lead complex organisations and navigate periods of change makes him ideally suited to this role.

“Council is focused on moving forward, providing stability for our organisation and ensuring we continue delivering positive outcomes for the people of Perth.”

Hunt said he was pleased to return to the City of Perth, having been in the position from 1994 to 2002.

“I look forward to working with Council and staff, drawing on my experience to provide steady leadership and support the important work of the City during this transition period,” he said.

Hunt will start his role with the City on October 19.

The position was recently held by Maria Cooke, who stepped into the acting role after Michelle Reynolds was suspended by the council in May.

The decision came after a confidential meeting with Local Government Inspector Tony Brown to discuss a report into claims levelled against the chief executive.The council was also subsequently put on notice by Brown at the same meeting.

Reynolds (no relation to Bruce Reynolds) was later sacked from her position on September 22 following an investigation into the claims against her – a decision she says she intends to challenge.

“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,” Reynolds told the meeting after her sacking.

“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.”

Just over a week before Reynolds was sacked, Brown announced the City would face yet another inquiry as it battled to overcome “fractured working relationships” and “ongoing governance issues” plaguing the council.

He said the fresh inquiry would take about three months and cost about $120,000, however was confident it would be a “short and effective way of providing an outcome for the City of Perth community”.

Carol Adams was appointed as a local government monitor on January 19 for a period of six months which culminated in a confidential report submitted to Brown.

Unlike Adams’ report, the inquiry report will be made available to the public and could include recommendations for the council to implement.

“We could recommend to the minister for local government that the council be dismissed, or certain individuals be dismissed,” Brown said last month.

“So that’s the worst-case scenario, and I do not want to pre-empt what the inquiry will find.”

Legislatively, Brown cannot take action on Adams’ monitor’s report, which paved the way for his inquiry.

Brown also listed breaches of confidentiality, a breakdown of public working relationships, and city officers “inundated with way too many questions and requirements” as issues raised during the monitor’s inquiry.

Altogether, Adams’ report led to 12 actions that Brown made clear he expected the city to undertake.

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

“I don’t think it’s there at the moment, so we’re going to work through that, and we want the City of Perth to be able to return to providing good governance for its community.”