Adelaide City Council chief executive officer Peter Smith has confirmed he will resign next month.

Smith said he had been considering whether or not to resign for months, and had“mixed feelings” about leaving the organisation.

“I was keen to see the new council through their first six months and help them form into a strong team,” he said.

“I believe this has now occurred and the council and administration are well placed to make the city an even better place in the future.

“It’s now time to pass the baton on to a new CEO and move onto the next stage in my career.

“I have been honoured to be able to lead a great organisation and to serve the City Council and t

Outgoing CEO Peter Smith.

he people of the City of Adelaide for the last six and a half years.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working in the role and with the many great people that I have worked with externally, internally and on council.

“It is with mixed feelings that I leave council and the decision has come about after quite a few months of deliberation.”

Lord Mayor Martin Haese said he had wanted Smith to stay on as CEO.

“As the new Lord Mayor I wanted Peter to stay on for this term, however Peter has decided to leave to pursue new opportunities and I can only respect that decision,” Haese said.

“Council members have met confidentially over the last couple of weeks to work through the impacts of Peter leaving and to develop a succession plan.”

Last week, the council held a five-hour-long secret meeting related to “governance”.

InDaily understands Smith’s position was discussed at the meeting.

Haese said Smith had made an “enormous contribution” to the City of Adelaide.

“Peter should be proud of his considerable achievements over the last six and half years and of leading a team of people who are passionate and dedicated to creating the best outcomes for the city.

Smith served under Lord Mayors Michael Harbison, Stephen Yarwood and Martin Haese over that period.

Veteran councillor Anne Moran told InDaily it was a regular occurance that CEOs resign soon after the election of a new Lord Mayor.

But she praised Smith’s performance, saying she would have refused his resignation.

“I don’t want to lose the CEO – I don’t want him to resign,” she said.

“I would refuse his resignation.

“He’s a terrific CEO. We’ve got used to him.”

Moran warned the next few months would be a “rocky period” for the council.

“I think it will not destabilise the council, but getting a new CEO is a very rocky time,” she said.

Deputy Lord Mayor Houssam Abiad rejected any suggestion of instability in the council, but said Smith would be a great loss.

“It’s been great working with Peter,” he said.

“We’ve seen the city go from strength to strength under his leadership.”

Smith is the third senior officer in council administration to resign in the past fortnight, joining the head of media and communications David Hill and general manager of city culture and community services Sandy Verschoor.

Smith will now pursue work in the private sector.

Before becoming CEO at Adelaide City Council, Smith worked in senior management roles in the Federal Government and the New South Wales and South Australian state governments.

He has also worked as a management consultant, and has taught Masters of Business Administration in Hong Kong and Singapore.