By Cam Lucadou-Wells and Garry Howe
City of Casey’s durable chief executive Mike Tyler has stepped down in sudden and mysterious circumstances.
Mr Tyler had “mutually agreed” with Casey that “now is the right time to move on,” according to a statement by the council on 21 February.
He leaves the job on 22 February, with no official explanation from the council of why there was a parting of ways.
Mr Tyler had served as the council’s one and only chief executive for 23 years, overseeing a municipality that rapidly grew from 130,000 residents to more than 300,000.
He’d worked for Casey and City of Berwick for more than 36 years.
Two years ago, Mr Tyler’s reign was extended for four years – until 2020.
The re-appointment was made by a previous term of councillors, who controversially chose not to advertise the $350,000-plus annual position.
Now, Mr Tyler says it is time to move on and allow other leaders to shape the council’s future direction.
He told Star News he had it in mind for some time that this would be his last year in the job but there had been on official decision until this week.
The move into Bunjil Place late last year heralded the right time for Casey to move into new leadership, he said.
Asked to describe his emotions, Mr Tyler said he was “very happy”.
“I am going out on a high,” he said.
“I can look back with a lot of pride at what has been achieved and Council and I have come to a fair agreement.”
Mr Tyler leaves as the longest serving council CEO in Victoria, the only one remaining of the original appointees following the Jeff Kennett-inspired council amalgamations in the mid-1990s.
He said he hoped his legacy would be considered the four major projects undertaken by Casey under his leadership – Casey Arc, Casey Race, Casey Fields and Bunjil Place – the latter the most ambitious infrastructure undertaking by a council in the country.
He recalled being told by a manager when planning Casey Arc that the project would cost him his career.
Mr Tyler said he had no plans – beyond training for triathlons – but his mind was not closed to any career opportunities that may arise.
Speculation had swirled around Mr Tyler’s tenure in recent days, intensified by his unexplained absence at a Casey general meeting on 20 February.
His seat was not filled by an acting chief executive during the meeting.
A closed meeting involving councillors and council officers followed that night.
Mayor Geoff Ablett said Mr Tyler had strongly supported a significant capital works program with Bunjil Place setting a “new benchmark for suburban council facilities”.
“It will be a long time until another council is able to develop such a facility.
“Mr Tyler indicated he was proud of this achievement that council was able to carry out due to prudent and long-term financial planning.”
In a statement, Casey Council described Mr Tyler achieving his stated aim of making City of Casey the “pre-eminent Victorian council”.
Mr Tyler’s tenure was not without controversy.
In 2013, he was spared conviction after pleading guilty at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court to breaching the Local Government Act by failing to properly disclose a conflict of interest to the council.
The conflict of interest arose from a sexual harassment claim by a former council staff member against him and the council in 2011.
It was confidentially settled during a mediated hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal before Mr Tyler disclosed the matter to the council.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association spokesman Brendan Browne said the CRRA had been surprised that Mr Tyler’s contract was renewed in 2015 given the breach.
“We won’t be disappointed to see him go but we would like to know more about the circumstances about this mutual decision to move on.”
