Dubbo Regional council mayor Ben Shields has used a last minute verbal mayoral minute to address the successes, failures, strengths and the challenges the council has faced since its election one year ago.
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Cr Shields also used his speech to speak to those who he claimed were talking against the council within the community.
“Some within the community would deliberately seek to discredit the council which directly affects the ongoing growth and well being of our city.
“I will encourage them to come up with some constructive criticism and deliver to a positive future,” Cr Shields said.
While speaking about the challenge the council were facing Cr Shields said the biggest challenge was the ‘continuing change caused by the administration.
“We are actually managing it far better than other merged councils, despite what some may say,” he said.
“Yes it is true that this organisation with 611 staff have vacancies in around 60 positions, however it is a result of the amalgamation process that each and every one of these merged councils is suffering. Of the 26 councils that were formed from the government’s amalgamations of smaller councils only two of those have their original general managers in place.”
He said of the 26 councils there was an average of 50 per cent turn over of senior staff, while Dubbo only had a 40 per cent turn over, and for all staff in the amalgamated council there was an average staff turn over of 13.4 per cent, with Dubbo having just 11.3 per cent.
In speaking about the success of council over the past 12 months, Cr Shields listed a number of items including the record rural roads budget, the progressive nature of the drug rehab centre, the boom at the airport and the developments in the CBD.
Cr Shields noted the Wellington Town Assembly had been a failure.
“The assembly model which I championed as my first mayoral minute has simply not worked. In the coming months I will be asking councilors to consider a new structure for the Wellington Town Assembly that will give Wellington town locals a say on their towns direction.”
Cr Shields finished his mayoral minute by speaking to each of the councillors in turn, stating their greatest strength is the ‘cohesive council of 10’.
“The likes of which has never been seen in at least 20 years in this chamber.”