Shake-up in Lismore council's leadership team
LISMORE City Council has seen a changing of the guard, with new directors brought in to boost the general manager's vision.
Lismore
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TWO new directors have joined Lismore City Council and another one is leaving as the organisation sets out to reinvent itself.
And the new senior staff are passionate about making teh council a better place to live, work and do business.
Dr Sharon Harwood has been in the chair for six weeks as the director of Partnerships, Planning and Engagement, while Graeme Towers is responsible for overseeing Corporate Services.
The pair has come on board as part of general manager Shelley Oldham's drive to boost the town's economic prosperity.
Dr Harwood's role involves the management of development and compliance, integrated planning, economic development, Richmond Tweed Regional Library and major recreation and cultural facilities.
Passionate about planning and rural communities, having spent the past 25 years working in rural and remote places, Dr Harwood was recently awarded National Planner of the Year by the Planning Institute of Australia.
The award was in recognition of her advocacy work that resulted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's knowledge, culture and tradition being embedded in Queensland planning legislation.
She said her key challenges for the first six months involved community consultations.
"Our biggest challenge is to ensure the community is not fatigued as we have to consult respectfully with them on each issue individually to comply with state requirements,” she said.
"The other big challenge is development in the flood plain...how do you get development and a resilient community at the same time?”
Mr Towers, who came to the council after undertaking some consulting work, has more than 20 years of experience consulting for large corporates including law firms, healthcare and environmental organisations.
"The three main challenges for me are financial sustainability, work health and safety and changing council's culture,” he said.
"The general manager has gone on the record as saying there have been failures of leadership and systems and this is bring addressed.
"Now a new leadership team will free up Ms Oldham to focus on governance and funding, which means she can work on the overall governance of council and equally important, on economic development and securing funding for council.”
Meanwhile, Infrastructure Services director, Gary Murphy, is understood to be leaving the council for a role in Queensland.
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