Mr Schneider's contract ends in early 2023, and while he said councillors had indicated he was welcome to apply for the role, he didn't say whether he would.

He said it had been a privilege to lead the council team.

The renewal of Mr Schneider's four-year contract comes after a tumultuous time at the council when the previous councillors made the controversial decision to terminate his contract in a 4-3 vote in July, 2020.

He took Supreme Court action and the judicial review quashed the councillors' decision and he was returned to his old job in June, 2021.

Mayor Vicki Jellie said the matter was discussed by the council on Monday night and, after considering all the options, councillors decided to explore the market.

"The CEO role at most organisations comes with a limited tenure and WCC is no different," she said.

"It allows the council to rigorously test the market to ensure the best possible outcome for our organisation and municipality."

Mr Schneider said he understood the decision was the council's prerogative.

"Council has indicated they would welcome an application from me for the role," he said.

"So there is an option for me to apply and potentially build on the efforts of the past three-and-a-half years.

"And there's still important work for me to do before the completion of my contract.

"It is a wonderful and, at times, challenging role."

Mr Schneider said the organisation was tracking well.

He said it had recorded some great results in the Community Satisfaction Survey and the rating for overall council direction was at an all-time high.

"We've submitted a very competitive Commonwealth Games submission and received great support and involvement of local sporting organisations," he said.

"We have made great progress on key advocacy items including receiving support for improving boat launching at the port of Warrnambool.

"We've appointed a new director of community development which is really exciting for this vital part of council operations.

"It continues to be a privilege to lead a great council team in a vibrant, dynamic municipality."

Councillors held discussions about the CEO job behind closed doors after Monday night's public meeting.

At the start of the council meeting, when Cr Jellie asked if any councillors had a conflict of interest they needed to declare, Mr Schneider referred to the item listed for in-camera discussion.

At the end of the meeting, it was closed to the public to discuss three items - one relating to in-camera minutes from the December 6, 2021 meeting, audit and risk advisory committee minutes, as well as the item relating to the chief executive officer employment.

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