MP Bev McArthur has called on the councillors who sacked Warrnambool city's CEO to "come clean" on how much the decision has cost ratepayers.
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Mrs McArthur said "whether it was no cost, $100,000, $500,000 or $1 million" the community needed to know.
But the councillors are bound by the Local Government Act from revealing just how much the payout would be, or discussing details of the decision to sack Peter Schneider.
However, the council has confirmed the figure would be contained in the 2020-21 annual report that will be completed in September next year.
Mr Schneider was sacked earlier this month after a four-three vote of councillors.
Mrs McArthur said she had raised the issue with new Local Government Minister Shaun Leane.
"I think the minister is very concerned about the situation and closely looking at what is going to be the best outcome for Warrnambool," she said.
Mrs McArthur said while she'd not seen the CEO's contract and didn't know what he was entitled to, she suggested there might also be legal expenses to pay.
She said there was "no norm" when it came to a local government CEO's contract in terms of what payout they were entitled to, but the former Corangamite councillor said if she had to "hazard a guess" it could be anywhere from half-a-million to a million dollars.
"Those involved in terminating the CEOs commission need to come clean with the Warrnambool ratepayers as to the cost of their action," Mrs McArthur said.
"Whatever it's going to cost, it would be better spent in other things at the moment I would suggest."
While it is unclear exactly how much Mr Schneider's contract was worth, last year's annual report lists the remuneration package for the highest paid person at the council in 2018 would have been between $320,000 and $329,000 - a figure which would include superannuation and probably a car.
Based on those figures, a six-month payout could be worth $165,000 and the full 2.5 years left of Mr Schneider's four-year term could be as much as $825,000.
"The money could be better spent elsewhere I would have thought, or not spent. Put it back in the hands of the ratepayers would be my recommendation with rate reductions," Mrs McArthur said.
"They just got an exemption from ratecapping, they've put up the rates and this is an added expense you would have thought no council would need at this time when their revenue is no doubt falling and they've got to assist in other ways."
The revenue from the rate cap exemption in 2019-20 netted the council an extra $655,000 to address an asset renewal backlog.
Mrs McArthur previously spoke out about the CEO's sacking, calling for councillors to step down or be stood down and an administrator brought in.
"If he's passed his performance reviews and KPIs and gets sacked, there needs to be an explanation," she said.
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