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DISMISSED council general manager Tony Hayward has praised staff in reflecting on his time at the council helm.
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Mr Hayward spoke exclusively to the Port News yesterday.
“At the outset, I would like to make it quite clear that I have done nothing wrong, it was the council who terminated my contract without cause,” he said.
“I have enjoyed my time with the council and endeavouring to provide outcomes for our community through working with the staff.”
Mr Hayward enjoyed working with all the council staff.
“Council has a terrific workforce, and within the available resources, they do the best job possible,” he said. “As their previous boss, I am very proud of what they have done and what they have been able to achieve.
“I think the community should be proud of the council workforce.”
Mr Hayward said with a number of initiatives being undertaken at the moment, such as the continuous improvement program, the situation would only continue to improve into the future. The council has a total of about 600 staff.
Mr Hayward was about half way through a five-year contract when that contract was terminated at an extraordinary council meeting late on Monday afternoon.
He yesterday sent an mail to staff and another email to management thanking them for their contribution and their energy in working to deliver the best they could for the organisation and the community.
Mr Hayward said there had been significant achievements during his time in the top job, including improved response times to pothole repairs.
The community could assist the council, he said, by reporting potholes so they could be inspected and addressed.
“We are delivering a lot more for our community now than when I came to this council and over the period since the previous council was dismissed,” Mr Hayward said.
“The additional amount of money we have put into road operations has doubled over the past 10 years.”
He said projects were happening, and as a ratepayer he would like to see more being done, but he was a realist and the council could only do what it could afford.
Mr Hayward was the chief executive officer of South Burnett Regional Council in Queensland when he accepted the position of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council general manager in 2011.
The then council administrator Neil Porter said, at the time, the interview panel agreed unanimously to offer the position to Mr Hayward, citing his experience in negotiating major airline deals in the Whitsundays and leading a major regional council as just some of the strengths he would bring to the council.
Looking to the future, Mr Hayward said yesterday he had no plans to leave Port Macquarie. He has worked in the local government sector for almost 30 years.
