By Jeremy Sollars
The Southern Downs Regional Council has announced the departure of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Keenan and Mayor Vic Pennisi has thanked Mr Keenan “for his service to the community over the last five years”.
The announcement follows a special council meeting held earlier today – Friday 24 April – called by Cr Pennisi.
The agenda for the meeting had only one item which was listed as confidential but the agenda stated it related to “staff issues”.
Notice of council meetings is normally given by the CEO but the mayor has the authority to call a special meeting.
It is understood Mr Keenan will leave the organisation next Friday 1 May. Councillors will discuss acting CEO arrangements at their April meeting scheduled for next Wednesday 29 April.
In a statement released this afternoon a council spokeswoman said Mr Keenan was originally appointed in January 2015 and “came to the Council with a strong background in public administration, planning and economic development, having served as CEO at Councils in Victoria and New South Wales”.
“Mr Keenan played an instrumental role in attracting investment and employment to the region, as well as increasing the level of funding for important projects from both State and Federal Government,” the statement said.
“He also helped guide the Council organisation and community through challenges including floods, bushfires, the crippling and ongoing drought and the current COVID-19 situation.
“Additionally, Mr Keenan led a major financial reform process to ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of the organisation.”
In the statement Mayor Vic Pennisi congratulated Mr Keenan “on the valuable contribution he has made to the Southern Downs region”.
“On behalf of the Council and our community, I would like to thank Mr Keenan for his commitment over the last five years,” Cr Pennisi said.
Also in the statement Mr Keenan said he wished to “thank the staff of the organisation for the very good work that they do every day of the week, as well as their resilience in dealing with natural disasters”.
ACTING ARRANGEMENTS?
Below the CEO position the council has three senior departmental directors – Seren McKenzie (Infrastructure Services), Jane Stroud (Sustainable Development) and Joanne Morris (Corporate and Community Services).
It is possible one of those three directors could step into an acting CEO role or it could be rotated between them until a permanent replacement is found.
Further details of Mr Keenan’s departure have not been released but are likely to be a confidential matter between Mr Keenan and the SDRC.
SOME BACKGROUND…
Mr Keenan has been CEO of the Southern Downs Regional Council since January 2015.
In June 2018 all then-councillors – with the exception of Vic Pennisi – voted in favour of offering Mr Keenan a new four-year contract beginning on 1 July of that year.
The renewal of Mr Keenan’s contract in June 2018 happened around the same time as long-serving senior council manager Ken Harris left the organisation.
Mr Harris had been with the SDRC for 23 years, at his departure in the role of Director of Planning, Environment and Corporate Services which he held for some years.
In March 2018 the position of Director of Engineering Services became vacant after former incumbent Peter See resigned, having likewise been a senior council manager for some years.
The departure of Mr Harris and Mr See and the renewal of Mr Keenan’s contract led to a significant restructure of the council’s senior management team and departments.
