New year, new Kempsey Shire Council
Published on 08 January 2025
As the beautiful holidays filled with loved ones, laughs and an abundance of festive food become core memories, we’ve hit the ground running at Kempsey Shire Council. I hope you all had a wonderful break and are starting 2025 feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and ready for all the good things to come!
Revitalising our leadership team
The process of recruiting a Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is now underway, with the appointment of an experienced external recruitment provider to assist myself and the panel. This follows the resignation of Council’s former General Manager, Mr Craig Milburn, late last year, after seven years leading the Council operations and staff. Councillors resolved to change the title of the role in line with modern local government practice and to reflect the complexity of this large and very important job. I anticipate the role will be advertised this month and we are certainly anticipating some high-quality candidates who can continue to deliver on our community vision and priorities.
In addition to the recruitment of a new CEO, we will also be seeking a new Director Corporate and Commercial, following the recent resignation of Mr Stephen Mitchell. Mr Mitchell is well known in our community having worked tirelessly across his portfolio and focusing on ensuring Council’s future financial sustainability. His knowledge, dedication and good humour will be greatly missed! Mr Mitchell will remain with Council until 28 February, by which time recruitment will be well-progressed.
Revitalising our future plans
Late last year, Councillors spent time working with senior staff to review what’s called our ‘Integrated Planning’ documents. Effectively, these are the plans and strategies which map out our vision for the Macleay Valley community, our future goals, and the work that will be undertaken to achieve these goals. Many of you will have heard about these documents – they include our Community Strategic Plan, Delivery Plan, Engagement Strategy and more.
Developing and adopting these plans is some of the most important work Councillors do at the start of a new Council term. Obviously, this is not done in isolation by us, but staff work with us and consider all the feedback we’ve received from the community on your needs, priorities and proposed projects, to look to what can be delivered with our resources to get the best possible outcomes for our current and future community. The work to finalise the drafting of these critical planning documents will continue over the next couple of months, and we look forward to sharing the drafts and seeking your feedback.
If you have questions on any of the above, don’t hesitate to chat with myself or my Councillor colleagues, or ask a question via ksc@kempsey.nsw.gov.au
I hope your start to 2025 is a fantastic one!