Memorandum by the Chief Executive Officer
To Council:
Arrangements for an Acting Chief Executive
Officer / Powers of Attorney
A Resolution of Council is sought to grant
new Powers of Attorney to all City of Sydney Directors.
At present the Council has granted Power of
Attorney to specific individual Directors, as follows:
·
Patricia Monica Barone, by resolution dated 1 June
2009;
·
Kim Philip Woodbury, by resolution dated 24 October
2016;
·
William Ross Carter, by resolution dated 24 October
2016; and
·
Kirsten Tara Morrin, by resolution dated 28 October
2019.
It is appropriate that Powers of Attorney be
granted to all people filling the permanent Director roles, as follows:
·
Chief Executive Officer;
·
Chief Operating Officer;
·
Chief Financial Officer;
·
General Counsel, Director Legal and Governance;
·
Director City Services;
·
Director City Life;
·
Director People, Performance and Technology; and
·
Director City Planning Development and Transport;
to enable those Directors to act make decisions on behalf of the Chief
Executive Officer.
The Chief Executive Officer has the capacity to appoint someone to act
in her role while she is on annual leave under her general delegations from
Council. The delegation to appoint an acting Chief Executive Officer in other
circumstances rests with the Lord Mayor in accordance with the Register of
Delegations from Council to the Lord Mayor (Delegation 19).
Section 378 of the Local Government Act 1993
provides that:
378 Delegations by the general manager
(1) The general manager may
delegate any of the functions of the general manager, other than this power of
delegation.
(2) The general manager may
sub-delegate a function delegated to the general manager by the council to any
person or body (including another employee of the council).
(3) Subsection (2) extends to a
function sub-delegated to the general manager by the council under section 377
(2).
The Powers of Attorney will be used:
·
when the Chief Executive Officer has appointed a
Director to be Acting Chief Executive Officer when she is on annual leave;
·
under delegation from the Chief Executive Officer
when she is not physically able to sign documents due to being
interstate/overseas while on duty or due to illness or where there is an urgent
need for documents to be physically signed at a time when she is not available;
or
·
when the Lord Mayor has appointed a Director (M2)
to temporarily act as Chief Executive Officer in accordance with Register of
Delegations from Council to the Lord Mayor.
Updated Guidelines for the Appointment and
Oversight of General Managers
New Guidelines for the Appointment and Oversight of General Managers
(Guidelines) have been issued under section 23A of the Local Government Act
1993.
The Guidelines have been updated to reflect new standard contracts and
to implement the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)’s
recommendation that they include guidance that general managers’ performance
agreements include performance indicators related to the promotion of an
ethical culture. The Guidelines also contain guidance on the importance of good
working relationships between councils and general managers.
Under section 23A of the Act, councils must consider the updated
Guidelines when exercising their functions in relation to the recruitment and
oversight of general managers.
Establishment of a Chief
Executive Officer Performance Review Panel
In accordance with the Guidelines and a 19 September 2022 Resolution of
Council, a Chief Executive Officer Performance Review Panel (Panel) will be
established.
The Panel will comprise of:
·
The Lord Mayor;
·
The Deputy Lord Mayor;
·
a Councillor nominated by Council;
·
a Councillor nominated by the Chief Executive
Office (note that the Chief Executive Officer will nominate a Councillor prior
to the Panel convening); and
·
an independent observer being the Chair of the
Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (Carolyn Walsh).
The role of the Panel includes:
·
conducting performance reviews
·
reporting the findings and recommendations of
reviews to Council, and
·
development of the performance agreement.
Members of the Panel will be required to
undertake training. This training will be arranged and provided by the City and
offered to all Councillors.
Councillors who are not members of the
performance review panel may be invited to contribute to the performance review
process by providing feedback to the Lord Mayor on the Chief Executive
Officer’s performance relevant to the agreed performance criteria. All
Councillors will be notified of relevant dates in the performance review cycle
and be kept advised of the Panel’s findings and recommendations.
MONICA BARONE
Chief Executive Officer
Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Kok –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note the recommendation to revoke each current Power of Attorney and grant a
new Power of Attorney to each permanent Director role at the City of Sydney;
(B)
Council
note that a further report to Council to revoke each current power of attorney
and grant a new power of attorney to each permanent Director role will be
provided to Council for approval in 2023;
(C)
Council
note that each current Power of Attorney will remain in full force and effect
until Council makes a resolution to revoke each Power of Attorney;
(D)
Council
note the Guidelines for the Appointment and Oversight of General Managers as
shown at Attachment A to the subject memorandum;
(E)
Council
establish a Chief Executive Officer Performance Review Panel comprised of the
Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Lyndon Gannon (nominated by Council),
a Councillor nominated by the Chief Executive Officer (note that that the Chief
Executive Officer will nominate a Councillor prior to the convening of the
Panel) and an independent observer being the Chair of the Audit, Risk and
Compliance Committee;
(F)
authority
be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer Performance Review Panel to
undertake the Chief Executive Officer’s performance review in accordance with
the Guidelines; and
(G)
Council
note that the Panel will report back to Council in a confidential session on
the findings and recommendations of performance reviews as soon as practicable
following any performance review.
Clauses (A) to (C) were moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded
by Councillor Kok, and carried unanimously.
Clauses (D) to (G) were moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded
by Councillor Kok – noting that Councillor Lyndon Gannon would be the
Councillor nominated by Council in clause (E).
The substantive motion (comprising clauses (D) to (G)) was carried on
the following show of hands –
Ayes (8) The
Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Chan, Davis, Ellsmore, Gannon, Kok, Scott
and Scully
Noes (2) Councillors
Jarrett and Weldon.
Substantive motion (comprising clauses (D) to (G)) carried.
S115439