The decision was made at the February Council meeting and was not a unanimous decision.

The Witness believes four councillors voted to renew Mr McMahon’s contract.

The general manager's current contract concludes in September this year. Under the contract, the council had a set time-frame before its end date to decide on whether the contract would be renewed.

At this stage, neither the General Manager or Council have provided clarification as to what that now means in the longer term.

Mr McMahon said he would take some time to consider his options.

"The decision has only just been made and both the Mayor and I are still working through a number of council-related commitments. I intend to sit down with my family and work through where to from here considering all the options available,” he said.

Mayor Brian Ingram said there would be nothing precluding Mr McMahon from applying for the role when it is eventually advertised.

"The decision has just been made and Mr McMahon will obviously need time to discuss what the decision means for him and his family and what the options are,” he said.

“The time-frame for that process still needs to be determined however it will be made publicly known when that decision is made.”

Councillor Greg Armstrong said the decision was purely a commercial one.

“This was a commercial decision to test the market to see if we have the best general manager possible and it is in no way an indication on our thoughts on Mr McMahon’s ability,” he said.

“It was not a unanimous decision, but ultimately we agreed to test the market.

Cr Armstrong said there was no malice in the decision.

“Any suggestion that this was a get-square by certain members of the council is irresponsible and unfounded,” he said.