City of Nedlands chief executive Keri Shannon has taken immediate leave, less than three months since commissioners took over the western suburbs’ council.
City of Nedlands chief executive Keri Shannon has taken immediate leave, less than three months since commissioners took over the western suburbs’ council.
Ms Shannon was appointed as Nedlands’ chief executive in May last year, for a five-year term.
It wasn’t long since taking up the role that the city went through some troubled times, leading to Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley disbanding the council and appointing three commissioners to manage the dysfunction.
The commission started its review in late July, taking the place of council and holding regular meetings.
Yesterday, the commissioners held a special council meeting on Ms Shannon’s performance review as chief executive but the session was held behind closed doors.
Head commissioner David Caddy today confirmed that Ms Shannon was on leave, temporarily replaced by Arthur Kyron.
“Accordingly, the council has appointed an acting CEO to ensure business continuity for the city,” he said.
“The community can be assured that all services are continuing as usual.
“Arthur Kyron is the city's acting CEO, he comes to the city with 28 years of local government CEO experience.
“Mr Kyron will be in the role until the substantive CEO returns from leave.”
Mr Kyron has taken up chief executive roles at the Town of Victoria Park, City of Canning, and most recently at the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes.
He was also appointed to an interim chief executive position at the Shire of Augusta and Margaret River and the Shire of Boyup Brook.
The City of Nedlands had been searching for a chief executive for months until Ms Shannon’s appointment.
Ms Shannon was the mayor at neighbouring council, the Town of Cambridge, from 2015 until her loss at the local government elections in 2023.
During her time at the town, Ms Shannon oversaw the council receiving a show cause notice over its suspension.
The show cause notice, issued by the state government, followed an inquiry into complaints made about the relationship between the town’s council and administration.
Ms Shannon was also found to have breached several counts of relevant state law and was penalised by the Local Government Standards Panel.
She has been fighting to overturn the panel’s findings in the State Administrative Tribunal, claiming she was under a lot of pressure when the complaints were made against her.
Ms Shannon’s move to the City of Nedlands did not relieve her of being in the headlines, as the council also attracted public attention in the past several years.
In July, four Nedlands councillors resigned on the same day which caused the council to lose its quorum.
On top of another resignation in January, the mass exits reduced the then nine-member council to just three elected members and Nedlands mayor Fiona Argyle.
In his resignation notice to the city, former councillor Ben Hodsdon said there was a string of issues during his time as a councillor, describing the environment as toxic and dysfunctional.
Ms Argyle has also butted heads with the state government, particularly over issues relating to Class A reserves she wanted to protect from property developers.
An investigation into the city started around May, Ms Beazley told media upon the appointment of the three commissioners in July.
"The dysfunction at the City of Nedlands was laid bare earlier this month with the resignation of four more councilors, leaving the council unable to reach a quorum and fulfill its duties to its ratepayers," she said at the time.
"I have moved quickly to select three highly qualified and experienced commissioners to build the duties of the council and restore stability to the City of Nedlands.
"The commissioners will carry out the responsibilities of the council from that time until a special election is held and a new council is formed, the special election for the City of Nedlands will be held on the 28th of March 2026.
"The March election ensures sufficient time for the commissioners and the WA Electoral Commission to progress the arrangements that are necessary to conduct a full council election."
