tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838969.post109695251422012335..comments2023-10-05T01:28:59.704+11:00Comments on Kings Cross Times: Domm again attacks Clover MooreThe Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16827285775130578187noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838969.post-1096960506439875802004-10-05T17:15:00.000+10:002004-10-05T17:15:00.000+10:00Daily Telegraph on 29 September
Council chief le...Daily Telegraph on 29 September <br /><br />Council chief leaves with $208,000<br />September 29, 2004<br /><br />CITY of Sydney general manager Robert Domm will leave Town Hall on Friday with a $208,000 golden handshake after rising tensions within the council.<br /><br />Mr Domm's contract was due to expire in two years but a deal was struck for him to leave this week after a heated council meeting on Monday and a no-confidence motion against him at a community meeting last week.<br /><br />Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore denied Mr Domm was pressured to quit.<br /><br />"He wasn't pressured, he came to me and we negotiated an agreement that he would leave," she said.<br /><br />Mr Domm was on a contract when Cr Moore was elected Lord Mayor earlier this year. <br /> <br />"He had two years of that contract to go and we've negotiated an agreement that he will get a payout of nine months' salary," Cr Moore said.<br /><br />"It's worth $208,000. He was entitled to more given that he had two years to run of his contract but in the interest of ratepayers and in the interest of a smooth operation, we've negotiated an agreed amount."<br /><br />Cr Moore said the payout would have no impact on the council's budget.<br /><br />She said she had a productive relationship with Mr Domm and reports of tensions within the council had been overstated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838969.post-1096952598840552892004-10-05T15:03:00.000+10:002004-10-05T15:03:00.000+10:00Moore accused of secrecy over review
By Darren Goo...Moore accused of secrecy over review<br />By Darren Goodsir, Urban Affairs Editor<br />October 5, 2004<br /><br />The senior council officer at the City of Sydney, Robert Domm, criticised <br />the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, in the days before his resignation, accusing <br />her of secrecy over a Government review that sought to hive off some of the <br />city's most important planning powers.<br /><br />Mr Domm told Cr Moore he had proof she had known since May of the <br />city-airport corridor review, led by the Government Architect, Chris <br />Johnson.<br /><br />But "despite the critical importance of the matters subject to the review, <br />at no stage ... has council been advised of its existence", he told Cr Moore <br />in a September 27 letter, obtained by the Herald. "The secrecy and lack of <br />transparency in respect to the review has compelled me to act according to <br />my paramount responsibility to the elected council."<br /><br />Mr Domm claimed he learned by accident in mid-September of the Johnson <br />review, which recommended that a government body, the South Sydney <br />Development Corporation, be given stronger powers and public land as an <br />asset base, to ensure better housing, transport and infrastructure plans <br />along the eight-kilometre strip.<br /><br />According to Mr Johnson, Cr Moore gave the Deputy Lord Mayor, John <br />McInerney, and another top council officer authority to negotiate on the <br />council's behalf on the review. But no other councillors, or council <br />officers, were informed of its progress - nor the submission advocating a <br />cut in effective council control.<br /><br />Mr Domm attacked Cr McInerney in an email circulated to all councillors - a <br />move that triggered his "negotiated" resignation as general manager days <br />later. It was only after his criticism of Cr McInerney that he become aware <br />of the Lord Mayor's involvement in the review from the start. Once the <br />matter became public, however, Cr Moore complained about not being <br />sufficiently consulted and lobbied the Government's senior planning <br />official, Jennifer Westacott, to withdraw the report. Ms Westacott agreed to <br />its being dumped.<br /><br />Cr Moore has never denied that she knew of the review.<br /><br />Although Cr Moore has repeatedly said Mr Domm's departure last Friday was <br />for mainly personal reasons, the official letters also show he submitted his <br />resignation because he believed her lack of support on the matter rendered <br />his position untenable. He complained about members of Cr Moore's team of <br />independents publicly "disparaging" him, undermining his ability to remain <br />in office.<br /><br />While Cr Moore suggested she had struck a good deal by negotiating an exit <br />payment down from the 12-month figure Mr Domm was apparently seeking, the <br />letters show he wanted only a standard six-month severance payment, and <br />instead got a nine-month, $208,000 handshake.<br /><br />"The position is that my continuation in my current role has become <br />untenable due to political circumstances," he wrote to Cr Moore on the <br />morning his departure was revealed. "This was confirmed again by yesterday's <br />events, where I was verbally abused by certain councillors, including a <br />member of your governing team at a special council meeting ... I request <br />that my contract be terminated with the minimum six months' payment <br />provision. I do not seek to negotiate for anything in addition, although <br />legally I have grounds for greater compensation ..."<br /><br />A spokesman for Cr Moore said she had taken advice that Mr Domm was legally <br />entitled to more than the nine-month payment he received. The payout figure <br />was reached in the interests of the council, "a smooth transition ... and in <br />terms of the matter being settled quickly". The spokesman said Cr Moore <br />thought she had successfully resolved differences between Mr Domm and Cr <br />McInerney, but could not stop Mr Domm from resigning when it became clear he <br />wanted to leave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com