A community reference group convened to assist with the recruitment of Armidale Regional Council’s next General Manager has been highly successful in providing public input to the selection criteria, according to Interim Administrator Viv May.
A total of 29 Armidale region residents attended last night’s session, representing a cross section of the population and providing a very constructive outlook towards a positive future for the region, Mr May said.
He applauded the community’s high level of interest, with a total of 61 people nominating to be involved, ranging in age from 23 to 78 and including good representation of Guyra and Armidale.
A random ballot of the eligible nominees was conducted to select a final list of participants.
“They included a number of new voices and I was heartened by the honesty in the room and acknowledgement of the challenges before us,” Mr May said.
“They provided a first-class contribution, with every participant eager to look towards the future rather than dwelling in the past.”
Mr May conducted the forum with Council’s Interim General Manager, David Kerr, and Local Government NSW’s Manager of Local Government Management Solutions, Mark Anderson.
“We were all appreciative of the respectful and constructive input and we have many notes from the evening to consider,” he said.
“While I am yet to determine who will be on the final recruitment panel, I’m investigating options to further involve the Armidale region community.”
