Adelaide City Council chief executive Peter Smith is expected to resign today.
Source: News Limited
THE state’s highest-paid council boss is expected to announce he is suddenly quitting today.
Adelaide City Council chief executive Peter Smith, who has a salary package worth almost $400,000 a year, is expected to notify staff of his surprise resignation this morning.
The Advertiser understands the paperwork has already been submitted and accepted but details of Mr Smith’s expected payout remain unclear.
Mr Smith’s resignation, the third involving senior staff in the past few weeks, comes days after a confidential five-hour council meeting, which occurred on last week’s Adelaide Cup Day public holiday, that discussed his position.
All 11 councillors and Lord Mayor Martin Haese attended the meeting, which was held behind closed doors with lawyers present, but staff were excluded, prompting fevered speculation about Mr Smith’s tenure.
Several council sources said the issue had come to a head after staff had raised concerns about Mr Smith’s management style.
Mr Smith, a bureaucrat with more than 25 years’ experience in all three levels of government administration, joined the council in 2008 and was paid an annual salary package worth almost $400,000 including a car and superannuation.
The council will now embark on a nationwide search for a new chief executive but it is understood the role will be filled temporarily by the local authority’s general managers on a rotational basis.
Mr Smith’s resignation comes on the eve of critical budget deliberations for the next financial year while general manager of City Culture and Community Services Sandy Verschoor and head of media David Hill have left the organisation within the last fortnight.
The resignations of three senior administration staff comes less than six months after the local government elections, which resulted in a new lord mayor and five first-term councillors. The new elected body is youngest on record with an average age of 45.
There was mounting speculation during last year’s election campaign that Mr Smith would reconsider his future in the role if anyone other than former lord mayor Stephen Yarwood won.
The Advertiser understands Mr Smith requested a five-year extension to his contact during a performance review last year but was rejected by councillors.
His six-and-a-half years in the role was marked by dramatic changes within Adelaide including overseeing major projects including the multi-million upgrades of Rundle Mall and Victoria Square.
It also included a push to improve the city as a destination for residents, city workers and tourists.
Mr Smith is involved with the boards of two planning and urban renewal organisations, Place Leaders Australia and Future of Places.
He was previously deputy chief executive at the Department for Families and Communities and senior Centrelink bureaucrat interstate.
Mr Smith did not return calls on Sunday night. Mr Smith refused to discuss his role with the council when contacted last week.
Mr Haese and Deputy Lord Mayor Houssam Abiad declined to comment.
Adelaide City Council chief executive Peter Smith ‘poised to quit’
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