CEO’s mystery trip ‘overseas’

FRANKSTON Council’s chief executive officer has gone on a mystery trip and no-one at council was able to say exactly where last week.

Dennis Hovenden is believed to be overseas on business and leave but enquiries over several days about his whereabouts failed to locate council’s CEO.

The Times understands councillors were not notified of Mr Hovenden’s absence and there is disquiet about the CEO not flagging his intention to head overseas for at least two weeks.

The CEO’s trip comes at a time when bedding in councillors, including four newly-elected councillors, for a new four-year council term after last month’s council elections is crucial.

This month’s trip for Mr Hovenden is the second foreign sojourn in recent months for council’s highest-paid employee, whose annual remuneration was listed as $330,000-339,999 in the latest council annual report.

Mr Hovenden visited Kansas in the US in September to attend the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) annual conference.

For the past five weeks, The Times has been requesting information about that trip, the names of any council staff that also went to Kansas and any ratepayer-funded expenses incurred.

The CEO visited Washington in the US in August last year at his own expense and used his own leave to attend the 2015 ICMA conference.

Mayor Cr Brian Cunial said the CEO was “overseas” when contacted and asked about Mr Hovenden’s latest trip.

He directed questions to council’s media and communications department.

Gillian Kay, acting council CEO in Mr Hovenden’s absence, did not respond to the questions passed on by Cr Cunial.

Watch Frankston Council CEO Dennis Hovenden speaking in Kansas about the importance of listening to and communicating with the community. VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE

First published in the Frankston Times – 21 November 2016

This article was amended on 21 November to note Mayor Cr Brian Cunial said the CEO, not the mayor, was overseas when contacted.