Murray Wood has been appointed permanent CEO of Dubbo Regional Council (DRC), effective from Monday 4 October, 2021. Mr Wood has been acting in the role of interim CEO since June 2021. On 10 August 2021 Council resolved to progress the permanent CEO recruitment, engaging Local Government Management Solutions to facilitate a competitive process.
Working at DRC isn’t unfamiliar territory for Mr Wood, who previously worked in various senior roles with Council between 2003 – 2018, including as Director of Community and Recreation, before moving into a role with the NSW Government as Director of Industry Development – Mining, Exploration and Geoscience within the Department of Regional NSW.
The selection panel for the CEO recruitment process was made up of the Mayor Stephen Lawrence, Deputy Mayor Anne Jones, Councillor Jane Diffey, and an independent third-party appointed by Local Government NSW. Councillors held an Extraordinary Council meeting on Tuesday 28 September to deliberate over the final two applicants, and unanimously decided to offer the position to Mr Wood after a lengthy discussion.
“As mayor I would like to congratulate Mr Woods on his appointment and reiterate the confidence that councillors and the community have in his ability to lead the organisation. He is the ethical and kind leader that council needs at this moment and into the future. His wealth of experience will provide a level-headed and expert approach to the management of Council services and the conducting of the important relationship with the elected body. The community can be confident that Mr Wood will act in the best interests of residents,” said Dubbo Region Mayor, Stephen Lawrence.
Mr Wood says he’s looking forward to moving into a new era with DRC, acknowledging the turmoil Council has been through in 2021. “The community, and indeed our staff, have been so patient this year, as we have gone through many changes in leadership and been under an incredible amount of scrutiny.
However, I’m confident that we have now turned a corner, and I feel very honoured to be able to lead DRC into this new chapter,” said Mr Wood.
During his time as interim CEO, Mr Wood has been able to gain an insight into how Council has been operating, and has overseen the enforcement of a Performance Improvement Order issued by the Office of Local Government, and implemented new policies and procedures as a result of an independent investigation into how DRC has handled previous Code of Conduct complaints. He says he’s now looking forward to getting on with the job of providing stable leadership.
“With the Local Government Elections just around the corner, my job now will be to focus on the general day-to-day operations of Council, ensuring the community comes on this journey with us. I want residents to feel assured that they will be more involved and more included in the decision-making processes of Council, getting back to that grassroots level of government that Councils provide. This grassroots governance will be underpinned by exceptional management of Council’s assets and businesses and I am looking to the challenge of ensuring long-term financial sustainability for DRC, said Mr Wood.
