During a confidential session at last night's Lismore City Council meeting, the ten Councillors (excluding Cr Jeri Hall as she was an apology) voted unanimously to offer the position of General Manager to their preferred candidate.

The name of the preferred candidate can not be released until they have accepted the position which you would think is imminent because they applied for the position in the first place.

Mayor Steve Krieg will negotiate the terms of the contract with the successful applicant which are based on the parameters previously advised to the recruiter.

If the preferred candidate decides they do not want the job, the Mayor will offer the role and negotiate with the second preferred candidate.

The members of the Performance Review Committee will work with Capstone Recruitment to to develop a performance agreement for the incoming General Manager.

One can only hope that the position of General Manager is shown more respect than some Councillors have shown the position in recent years. When you are about to employ the sixth General Manager in six years, you have to look at the 11 Lismore City Councillors and the way the treat the person in the GMs role.

With a unanimous vote (excluding Cr Hall) you can only hope that a clean slate will provide a platform for a respectful future with a strong commitment to work together for the betterment of Lismore.

You only had to listen to last night's council meeting to hear examples of disrespect.

Whether it be a personality issue, the strength of character of a GM or the lack of trust in the person that was hired to do the job to run Lismore City Council by the governing body, as councillors like to remind everybody in each monthly meeting.

Watching councillors challenge the GMs responsibilities and the decisions he and his staff recommend continuously must take its toll on on even the most hardened leader. One can only make the assumption that some Councillors do not trust the GM to make decisions in the best interests of our city. Something they are bound to do by the Office of Local Government.

GM John Walkers Performance Review was also part of the confidential session last night.

The motion was "That Council receives and notes the Mayoral Minute on behalf of the General Manager Performance Review Committee."

Crs Bing, Bird, Colby, Cook, Gordon, Hall (was in the minutes but not present) Jensen and Krieg voted for the motion with Crs Ekins, Guise and Rob voting against.

Mr Walker will remain in the role as General Manager until February 8, when his contract expires with the new General Manager beginning their tenure on Thursday February 9.

That was the final council meeting for 2022 with the first meeting for 2023 being held on Tuesday the 14th of February 2023, five days after the new GM starts.

What sort of welcome will they receive from our Councillors and how long will the honeymoon last?