Huon GM gets $180,000 exit
Huon Valley Council’s GM will leave her post with a payout of about $180,000 after a string of conflicts with the mayor.
Former Huon Valley Council general manager Simone Watson's contract was terminated by recently-appointed administrator Adriana Taylor.
After several months of investigation, a board of inquiry called for the council to be dismissed due to infighting.
The stoush came to a head when the relationship between Mayor Peter Coad and Ms Watson broke down entirely.
Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein said the council “was on the verge of a civil war” when he stepped in.
Cr Coad had been alleging that Ms Watson signed-off on her own credit card expenditure between 2013 and 2014.
Another councillor who had been at loggerheads with Mayor Coad, Mike Wilson, defended the claim against Ms Watson, saying her credit card use was all above board.
Ms Watson will leave immediately with a year's salary, reprtedly about $180,000.
Ms Taylor, the administrator, said the community needed confidence.
“My job is really to make the council functional again, I suppose, but it's also to restore community confidence in the council,” Ms Taylor said.
“It's not for me to make a judgment on who's right and who's wrong, that's not what I'm here for.
“I think the general manager was genuinely trying very hard to work with me to restore community confidence and to continue to get the council back on track.
“Once I'd made the decision and we'd had that discussion, I think she probably realised that that is a good opportunity for her to have a fresh start as well.
“This has taken its toll on everybody in this community, including the general manager.”