By Jason Smith

Earlier this month we ran a story about a strange decision made by the City of Greater Geraldton to get rid of one of it's more proactive managers. (Click here to read)

Today, the CGG has announced that the director responsible for the decision to sack Rob Smallwood has decided to "part ways" with the Council.

Additionally, the CEO of the City of Greater Geraldton has reduced the number of Directors in the Council from five to four by merging the Department of Treasury and Finance with the Department of Organisational Performance.

The directors of these departments were to apply for the newly created position under a closed merit application process. After speaking with both directors the Director of Organisational Performance, Cheryl Wood, has today agreed to part ways with the Council.

Mr Diehm said: “Cheryl has been a great asset to this Council and can be proud of her achievements over the last three years. She has a superior technical ability in corporate governance matters and a thorough understanding of local government. I will personally miss her advice and support, and wish her well in her future endeavours”.

Effective immediately, Bob Davis will take responsibility for the two departments and will be responsible for working with the directors, managers, and staff to bring about a successful merger transition.

The name of the new department has not been resolved and the CEO will leave that to Bob Davis and his fellow directors to determine.

“Obviously the merger will require some minor internal restructure and this may require the transfer of some responsibilities into other departments of Council. The directors and I will work on this over the next few days and advise staff as soon as possible” said Mr Diehm.

“Changes in organisational structure are not something that I am particularly fond of and I am aware that this has occurred several times over the last few years, negatively impacting upon the morale of our staff. However, I could not personally support a structure that, in my opinion, was top heavy and did not represent value for the community.

“Beyond merging these two departments, I have no plans to make further structural changes in the organisation. However, I reserve the right to consider the structure of the organisation if I believe that it is more likely to successfully achieve the objectives of the Council” he said.

The city has said that because the terms of the agreement are confidential, neither party will have any further comment to make about the matter.