The city's former chief executive officer has asked for a judicial review into a decision by Warrnambool councillors to terminate his contract.
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In documents filed with Victoria's Supreme Court, it has been claimed the special meeting where Peter Schneider's contract was terminated on July 13 in a 4-3 vote of councillors was contrary to governance rules and the defendant had no jurisdiction to make the decision.
All seven councillors have been named as defendants in the documents filed with the court, and a directions hearing has been set down for September 24.
If the court finds in Mr Schneider's favour and declares the decision to terminate his contract void, it could mean the former CEO may automatically be given his job back.
The court has been asked to declare the decision to terminate his employment was "so unreasonable that no reasonable person could have so made that decision".
The claim also asks the council pays the cost of filing and conducting the judicial review proceedings.
The documents claim Mr Schneider was given no or no adequate notice the defendant was to vote on a motion to terminate his employment at the special meeting on July 13. "The defendant had no reasonable grounds to terminate the plaintiff's employment," it says.
It also claims four councillors who supported the resolution to terminate Mr Schneider's employment were motivated by "actual bias" or "would be perceived to have been biased" against him.
In an affidavit presented to the court on Wednesday, Mr Schneider said that while he had no wish to become involved in the politics of the councillors, he unwillingly became caught up in issues that divided them.
Mr Schneider detailed those events, firstly listing what happened after former councillor Peter Hulin approached him about the installation of a pontoon adjacent to Cr Hulin's property.
Mr Schneider said he had made inquiries within the council about the approval process, which led to a complaint by Cr Kylie Gaston about their actions.
The audit and risk committee referred the matter to the Local Government Inspectorate but the investigation "exonerated councillor Hulin and made no criticism" of Mr Schneider's actions, the documents say.
Mr Schneider also documented events surrounding the misuse of a council-issued credit card, and how he was verbally criticised by Cr Mike Neoh for "not advising the chair of the audit and risk committee and not taking prompt action" after he became aware of the matter.
However, Mr Schneider said he had twice reported on the matter to all councillors, none of whom had requested it be referred to the committee on which Cr Neoh and Cr Sue Cassidy sat.
The documents detail the actions Mr Schneider took over the credit card issue including referring the matter to IBAC. While the ombudsman report is yet to be finalised, an investigation carried out by HLB Mann Judd in March this year found Mr Schneider had followed "the proper process and procedure". An independent investigation had also cleared Mr Schneider over complaints about the way he handled another staffing matter, it says.
In a 360 degree survey designed to assess Mr Schneider's performance, three councillors gave him the lowest ratings of 1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 7, the documents say. Mr Schneider says in the court documents that a consultant "expressed the opinion that the ratings were vindictive and spiteful and that, in his experience, people do not receive or give 1 ratings".
On the day his contract was terminated, Mr Schneider had written to mayor Tony Herbert saying he wanted to stay on as CEO to help rebuild the economy and see through major projects.
The documents revealed Mr Schneider had intended to stay in the role until he retired in 2029, if his four-year contract was renewed. During the special meeting on July 13, Mr Schneider excused himself when the matter of his employment came up.
"Prior to excusing myself, I was not given an opportunity to hear the allegations against me nor was I asked to say anything in support of my continued employment," the document says.
After being told about 7.15pm by the mayor that his employment had been terminated, Mr Schneider asked what reasons had been given. He was told "they said they had the majority and that they did not need to discuss the reasons".
On July 20, 2020, an amount of $201,769.30 was deposited into Mr Schneider's account "without explanation of how it was calculated". "I have not received any notification in writing from the council that my employment has been terminated," documents say. "I believe that the defendant, through the actions of councillors Gaston, Neoh, Cassidy and (David) Owen has failed to act reasonably and in good faith."
Mr Schneider said he had been unable to defend his reputation in the media due to ongoing obligations of confidentiality imposed on him by his contract of employment and the Local Government Act.
There were also allegations detailed in the document about the actions of others, but for legal reasons we have not been able to detail them until they are read out in court. The council declined to comment. Councillors were contacted and five declined to comment. Cr Herbert did not respond by deadline. Cr Mike Neoh also declined to comment but added that he "wouldn't imagine council is ceding to any assertions at this point in time".
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