Thames-Coromandel District Council is re-advertising for an IS manager following the abrupt departure of the incumbent after allegations of a fraud conviction were put to her.
In December the recently appointed information services manager, who was recruited by agency Hudson, failed to turn up to a meeting with the council’s chief executive and a union representative to discuss an allegation made by a council supplier that she had a fraud conviction.
“We don’t know whether she has fraud convictions,” chief executive Steve Ruru says. “We had some allegations we were trying to discuss with her, but she never fronted up to work through those issues.”
The council scheduled the meeting to take place two days after it first informed her of the allegations, “but we haven’t seen her since”.
When asked to name the supplier who made the fraud allegation, Ruru declined, “because [the information] was supplied to us confidentially”.
He did confirm that some council property had gone missing in the wake of the new appointee’s departure.
“We’re investigating the issue ... and are discussing it with the police.” He believes the disappearance of the property is related to the woman’s departure.
In the absence of an IS manager, the council’s information systems are being run by remaining staff and Gen-i, a contractor to the council, has increased its level of support.
The council is using Hudson in its search for a new IS manager, “but we’re obviously reviewing that relationship and working through the issues around recruitment with Hudson in the interim”, he says.
Ruru says Hudson’s bill to the council for placing the IS manager in the position was $13,900.
The name the appointee gave may not be real, as subsequent attempts by the council to contact her have been unsuccessful.
Her predecessor at the council, Jeff Shaw, left last year to take up the position of IT manager at North Shore City.
Hudson marketing manager Katie Knowles says she can’t comment because of client confidentiality.