THE payout for the former Orange City Council general manager has been released publicly, seven months after his resignation.
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Garry Styles' exit on May 5 was shrouded in secrecy, with the final terms remaining confidential.
However, the council's 2018-19 annual report has revealed the council paid $353,943 for the general manager's salary, which also included a salary for then-acting general manager David Waddell from Mr Styles' departure until June 30.
There was a second section for "other payments made to the general manager that do not form part of the salary component", which could include bonuses, performance payments or other non-salary payments.
That category was listed at $496,663.57, which the council confirmed included "significant annual leave and long service leave accrued over an extended period" of Mr Styles' 14-year tenure.
However, councillor Glenn Taylor said he and his colleagues were only made aware of the size of Mr Styles' final payout last week via a circular, informing them the details would be released to the media.
"Jeff Whitton and I recorded our names against [accepting Mr Styles' resignation] because you can't agree on a settlement for an employee if there's no information for the councillors voting on it, knowing nothing about what the amount was," he said.
Cr Taylor said when councillors requested information at the time, they were told it was subject to a confidentiality agreement and could not be released in case the details became public.
He wanted a full breakdown of the settlement and the NSW Office of Local Government to investigate the circumstances leading to the resignation.
"I'm not saying Garry Styles wasn't entitled to every cent, but the process was absolutely flawed," he said.
"We're talking about public money, we're not talking about private money."
Mr Styles, who is now working as a consultant, declined to comment.
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