{"id":68776,"date":"2020-05-18T23:14:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T12:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=68776"},"modified":"2020-05-19T01:00:34","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T14:00:34","slug":"ceo-sent-packing-search-on-for-interim-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/ceo-sent-packing-search-on-for-interim-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"CEO sent packing, search on for interim replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"

CITY of Ballarat councillors have voted to terminate the contract of CEO Justine Linley.<\/p>\n

The move came at an extra-ordinary, two-and-a-half hour, meeting of council held in the wake of a damning report from the State Ombudsman.<\/p>\n

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Embattled City of Ballarat CEO Justine Linley. Photo: FILE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The official announcement of Ms Linley\u2019s demise was made via statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity of Ballarat Councillors held an additional council meeting earlier this evening to consider their response to a Victorian Ombudsman\u2019s report released last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, we have decided to terminate the contract of Chief Executive Officer Justine Linley with immediate effect,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Even though the report substantiated some, but not all, of the accusations directed at Ms Linley, councillors felt enough was enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report revealed poor judgement from Ms Linley on a number of occasions,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncillors believe the City of Ballarat must be led by someone who conducts themselves at the highest of standards and in a manner consistent with the city\u2019s stated code of conduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Councillors have also lost confidence in Ms Linley and in the best interests of the community, feel that her position as CEO is no longer tenable. As as a result we have terminated her contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement released on social media by Cr Amy Johnson, she detailed the breakdown of the vote.<\/p>\n

Crs Johnson, Ben Taylor, Mark Harris, Belinda Coates, Daniel Moloney and Des Hudson voted for dismissal, Crs Samantha McIntosh, Grant Tillett and Jim Rinaldi voted against.<\/p>\n

It’s believed the latter three favoured an investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n

“The Ombudsman\u2019s report detailed very concerning behaviour and I felt this was council\u2019s only course of action,” Cr Johnson said.<\/p>\n

“Those councillors who chose not to vote to terminate the CEO\u2019s employment will need to answer to our community.”<\/p>\n