Departing Dubbo Regional Council CEO Michael McMahon says his proudest achievement during his years in local government is ensuring the organisation's financial security.
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McMahon, who came into the top job on an interim basis during a time when Dubbo was being buffeted by the hardship of the drought, was faced with a number of challenges during his tenure.
"I think the main thing that I saw in my role when I first arrived was the need to ensure that the organisation was getting the maximum out of the post amalgamation arrangement," Mr McMahon said.
"When I first go there, it was only one year into the amalgamation, and the last four years has been a story for me working towards achieving the best possible changes in policies, organising and restructuring."
Mr McMahon says the dual threat of both the drought and the economic impact of COVID-19 have put the measures implemented by himself and his team to the test.
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"Ensuring financial security was there, big measures I took upon myself as benchmarks that we were sustainable in the future, the big issue I've seen is our resilience level, it's been really tested by the drought and the economic downturn associated with COVID-19," Mr McMahon said.
"Council being more resilient, the things I've been able to implement with the support of the council, that's all very important in the modern local government."
Mr McMahon said he's 'very confident' that the measures undertaken by council during his time at the top were the right decisions.
"We've been fortunate enough to have a very financially sound council, our impacts from COVID were addressed, one thing I would like to see in the future is that 'rainy day' money replenished; I'd like to see that re-filled going forward over the next couple of years," Mr McMahon said.
Mr McMahon went on to say that the introduction of the project management team had been one of the key restructuring decisions that made the success possible, and that he was excited to see it's work in the future.
"When I first inherited the role we had a 70 million dollar amount in our budget to spend on important facilities and assets, with the introduction of our new project management team, we were really delivering those projects on time and on budget."
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