Arrangements agreed for leadership transition

Ben Rimmer said: "I am extraordinarily grateful to Council for giving me the opportunity to lead this fine organisation with strong values and deliver tangible benefits for the Melbourne community. I'm also grateful for my wonderful team and their outstanding efforts to make a difference for Melbourne.

"Over the next five months, I'm looking forward to continuing to deliver Council's plans, and our internal work on strengthening the organisation, and will do everything I can to ensure a smooth transition to a new CEO.

"I have always thought that late 2018/early 2019 was probably the right time for me to move on from the organisation, leaving Council an appropriate period to appoint a new CEO and have that person well established before the 2020 election.

"This view has been strengthened because, since December last year, I have believed that a consequence of the investigation into inappropriate behaviour by Robert Doyle was that I would need to leave the organisation in order to assist Councillors to move forward to normal relationships. I am proud of how my team and I have handled the unprecedented circumstances of the investigation, and the fairness and transparency which we brought to the process.

"While there is much more still to be done, I am pleased that the Victorian Government has amended the Local Government Act to reduce the chance that any other CEO would find themselves in the same intolerable situation. A non-elected public servant should never be required to commission an investigation into an elected representative who is effectively their employer."

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: "Council appreciates the leadership, values and focus Ben has brought to the role of CEO, and the support he has provided Council in delivering on its ambitious agenda for the City's future. Council is delivering a wide range of high quality services and critical initiatives to the benefit of the growing Melbourne community, and we understand that the way that Ben is leading the administration team is central to this achievement. At a personal level, I am grateful for his advice and support since my election as Lord Mayor some nine weeks ago.

"Over the period since Ben started in February 2015, Council's administration has become more forward looking, more delivery, cost and efficiency conscious, and significantly more diverse and flexible. I understand that the Council of the time recruited him with a mandate to drive change and modernisation, and he has delivered on this mandate exceptionally well.

"Council also acknowledges the extraordinary challenges navigated by the CEO during this period, both regarding the investigation over the past nine months, and also regarding his own personal health challenges during 2016 and 2017."

Mr Rimmer added: "I am lucky to lead an organisation with a great culture, with incredible staff, and where we get to work every day to improve one of the world's great cities. While no organisation is perfect and there is much more to be done, we have driven important changes over the last few years to deliver even better outcomes for Council and for the Melbourne community. In particular:

I am proud that our projects are now better meeting the city's infrastructure challenges, and that they also have stronger governance and management. The Queen Vic Market project, while challenging, is well placed to deliver the renewal so essential to maintaining the market's heritage as a fresh food mecca and small business powerhouse. The Munro development is about to commence construction. Southbank Boulevard is being delivered right now. And plans are well advanced for the major renewal of the Bourke Street Precinct, right in the heart of the city.Our staff engagement results show outstanding results, with over 70% of staff consistently agreeing with the statement that 'I would recommend the City of Melbourne as a great place to work'. The senior leadership of the organisation has been refreshed and is in great shape, with a wealth of talent balanced between long-standing city employees and new recruits from outside the organisation.The City of Melbourne now much more actively supports startups, biotech, smart city initiatives and our entrepreneurs and innovators, meaning that we are now consistently ranked in the top 10 City Governments in the world for these activities. Importantly, we haven't just followed overseas trends: we've created a unique Melbourne positioning that builds on the characteristics of our City and on deep insights from our own researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators, and that focuses on liveability and inclusion as well as inspiring the next generation of unicorn companies.Our approach to design led strategic planning has been massively strengthened, meaning we are now starting to catch up with planning for the growth that is underway. We now have the capacity as an organisation to support Council's ambitions in this area and to preserve and enhance Melbourne's liveability into the future.We have made real strides in improving diversity and inclusion at CoM, going from 17% to 50% female members of our executive leadership team, and implementing one of the most progressive parental leave and flexibility schemes in Australia to support everyone who has caring responsibilities. Our Aboriginal staff numbers have also gone from around 5 in 2015 to 27 today, well on the way to achieving our target of around 40 staff by 2020."