A new era has begun at AlburyCity as we work towards delivering the shared vision of the community and Council for the future as defined in the Albury 2030 Community Strategic Plan.
From Monday this week, a new and more modern leadership structure came into effect at Council when we transitioned from a five-directorate management model to two.
Under the changes, my former position of General Manager changed to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) while we now have two Deputy CEOs in Tracey Squire and Brad Ferris.
Tracey is now Deputy CEO Business, Growth and Community and Brad is Deputy CEO Infrastructure, Planning and Environment.
Tracey is a proven strategic leader with a wealth of experience in local government and finance, including 10 years as AlburyCity Director Economic Development and Tourism. Tracey brings a high level of business and commercial acumen coupled with community building to this role.
Brad brings more than 30 years local government experience - 11 of these as Director Engineering at AlburyCity. A qualified civil engineer, Brad has extensive experience in providing strong leadership as well as setting the strategic direction for infrastructure, development and commercial business related activities across AlburyCity.
Both were appointed during an extensive national recruitment process that attracted a strong field of 40 applicants – an endorsement of AlburyCity’s reputation as an employer of choice and recognition of the valuable partnerships built with our community.
By having this more modern and streamlined leadership structure, we’ll be better placed to continue our work to achieve the vision for our social, environmental and economic future as set out by the community and Council in Albury 2030.
There are some exciting times ahead, both in the short and long term, with some terrific initiatives coming up in this financial year’s budget. These include projects such as the next stages in the redevelopment of our beautiful Murray River precinct, improvements to the Albury Entertainment Centre, and the ongoing city-wide rollout of LED street lighting, just to name a few.
Of course, our dedicated team of Councillors and employees will continue to work on behalf of the community to achieve these aims and many more, but under the new structure, this work will be driven by an enhanced strategic focus that will ensure we are ready as a Council and a community to thrive in times of rapid change.
Tracey, Brad and I are looking forward to making the most of our new roles and in terms of service delivery we will continue to work towards improved performance - not just ‘business as usual’ - and we’re excited by the opportunities to take a more holistic view of our city’s future.
Change and improvement will flow from our ongoing collaboration with our community and partners, and I encourage everyone to continue those partnerships by sharing your ideas and aspirations with us so we can keep working together for an even better future for the nationally significant Albury Wodonga region.