COUNCILLORS and ratepayers are set to take their grievances over the sacking of chief executive Sharon Kelsey to the state government.
Staff members cried and hugged Sharon Kelsey after seven councillors voted in favour of the dismissal and five against.
The special meeting was chaired by acting mayor Cherie Daley.
Mayor Luke Smith was not present.
Rod Shaw, president of the newly formed Logan Ratepayers Association, said members were concerned that Ms Kelsey, who had worked for Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog, had been dismissed amid an investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
“There’s something not right,” he said.
Mr Shaw said he had spoken to an adviser to Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe about the meeting.
“This is the climax of it today. This is a watershed day for ratepayers because if we don’t do something about this council now we’re in for a very rough ride.”
Mr Shaw said he would report back to Mr Hinchliffe after the meeting.
He questioned why the public had been excluded from the in-camera debate before councillors voted.
Cr Darren Power said councillors who had voted against her dismissal were bewildered as to why Ms Kelsey’s contract had been terminated.
“There was very little debate,” he said. “Democracy was removed from us.”
Cr Laurie Koranski said she had been denied the opportunity to speak.
“As a first-term councillor this has been quite an eye-opening experience,” she said.
Cr Jon Raven also spoke out against the decision.
“To remove an anti-corruption specialist in the middle of a CCC investigation is just crazy,” he said.
“It’s like doing a u-turn when you are coming towards an RBT. The cops know you are doing something wrong when you’re running in the opposite direction.”
Cr Lisa Bradley said the day marked the lowest level the council had gone in the nearly 10 years she had been a councillor.
“Today our third CEO in less than two years was terminated with two weeks notice and no explanation given,” she said.
Logan is one of the councils that formed part of the CCC’s Operation Belcarra investigation.
Ms Kelsey was the council’s third chief executive in two years.
In 2016, Chris Rose resigned after a decade in the position and Andrew Milner resigned last year after less than seven months in the role.
A council spokesperson said council resolved not to appoint Ms Kelsey to the role of chief executive officer after a six-month probationary period.
Road and water infrastructure director Silvio Trinca has been appointed interim chief executive.