City set to appoint new CEO

CITY of Ballarat councillors will meet tonight in a hastily scheduled meeting to formally appoint a new chief executive officer.

Set to be streamed online via the municipality’s website at 7pm, the move comes about four months after the old council appointed recruitment firm McArthur to undertake the recruitment process.

At the time the move was described as a local, national and even international search.

“Hopefully we get a strong quality field that the we can appoint, or the new council can appointment, the new CEO to take the city forward,” said Cr Des Hudson at the time.

A search for a permanent, and new, CEO for the City of Ballarat was sparked back in May last year when a damaging report by the State Ombudsman focusing in part on hiring practices among selected members if the City’s executive leadership team lead to the sacking of then CEO Justine Linley.

In June 2020 interim head and former City of Ballarat CEO Janet Dore was appointed to guide the municipality through the quagmire of the Ombudsman’s report and other issues within the city.

One of the biggest issues on the incoming CEO’s agenda will be addressing the upcoming Halliday Report, also known as the Organisational Governance and Culture Review.

The yet to be formally delivered report, conducted by Susan Halliday AM, was commissioned by Ms Dore shortly taking on the interim CEO role and looked at issues around systems and culture within the City of Ballarat.

“The observations and insights drawn from the review will inform an action plan that will be implemented in early 2021 with a focus toward building a positive culture that delivers quality services to the Ballarat community,” said Ms Dore in her 2 December report to council.

“It is expected that the new CEO will be held accountable through the annual KPIs and a regular monitoring of governance and culture matters.”

The City of Ballarat as scheduled a media event with the new CEO tomorrow (Thursday) morning at a time and location yet to be announced.

The Ballarat Times will have full coverage of the new CEO’s appointment online tonight and tomorrow.