New general manager named

A special meeting of the council staff was held earlier this afternoon for the announcement of the name of the new general manager for the Derwent Valley Council. Mayor Martyn Evans told the meeting that it had been the desire of councillors that the staff should be the first people to know about the decision once a signed contract was in place. The contract of employment was approved at a special closed council meeting last night.

Everyone who attended today's staff meeting was provided with an advance copy of a media release to be issued this evening. The mayor, deputy mayor, Cr Triffett and I then visited the council's child care centre to talk to staff who were unable to attend the meeting and provide them with a copy of the media release.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the mayor paid tribute to the outgoing general manager, Stephen Mackey, who he described as a friend and mentor to the staff.

DERWENT VALLEY COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASE

Mayor Martyn Evans has announced the appointment of Mr Greg Winton as General Manager of the Derwent Valley Council. “From a strong field of candidates, we conducted a thorough recruitment process with assistance from consulting company KPMG and determined Greg had the skills and experience we were seeking from the 66 applications received for the role,” Mayor Evans said. “His commitment and experience in strengthening communities by developing strategic partnerships will help us pursue improvements in areas including local employment, education, and health services for residents of the Derwent Valley,” he said.

Mr Winton is no stranger to the challenges facing local government. The majority of his three decades of working in the sector has been in regional areas in Western Australia and Tasmania. Most recently he was the interim General Manager at the West Coast Council, with previous appointments in North-Western Tasmania as General Manager of the Circular Head Council for 11 years and of the Waratah-Wynyard Council for six years.

“I will work hard for strategic, future-focused and positive outcomes in the years ahead and I’m looking forward to moving to the Valley,” Mr Winton said. Mr Winton indicated his focus would be on working with Council and the community to support the delivery of high quality local services. “Building strong relationships with other levels of government and neighbours in the region will assist in making the Derwent Valley a more front of mind destination for visitors and additional economic investment also,” he said.

Mayor Evans indicated that the annual remuneration package of $190,000 (plus a laptop computer and up to $7000 per annum for communications, conferences and memberships) for the three-year performance-based employment contract was reasonable and compared well when benchmarked against other similar Tasmanian local authorities.

Mayor Evans also acknowledged the efforts of General Manager Stephen Mackey. “On behalf of past and present Councillors, Council staff and the community, I wish Stephen well and sincerely thank him for his contribution over the past 15 years to our community,” he said.

Mr Winton will commence work on June 21, starting with a two-week handover period.