With Ballina Shire Council General Manager Paul Hickey deciding to retire after more than a decade in the role, and almost twenty years time as a staff member, the task of finding a replacement has begun. Cr Damien Loone was also returned as Deputy Mayor after Cr Simon Chate withdrew his nomination.
At September’s meeting the hiring process for a new GM was supported unanimously, with Local Government NSW and other suitably experienced external recruitment consultants invited to submit proposals to help find a new person for this crucial and lucrative position.
Paul Hickey was thanked for his long and distinguished service, before a discussion over control of the selection panel involved in recruiting the new GM, some of which happened behind closed doors.
Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said, ‘The recruitment of a general manager is an extremely important responsibility for this council, and I believe we need to make sure we get the process right from the very beginning.’
In the end it was decided that the mayor and deputy mayor will recommend who sits on the selection panel, with the full council to be involved in the final decision.
Commonwealth grants
A discussion followed about federal grants for local government, with most councillors backing the proposed new method for sharing Commonwealth financial assistance. Mayor Cadwallader said Ballina’s share could potentially rise from about $6.44M to $8.03M.
Ballina Council resolved that their condition of agreement would be that one-off disaster funding and spending should be left out of these calculations.
Cr Dicker voted against the grants motion, worried the change could hurt Ballina later.
Cr Damien Loone was then re-elected for another two years in the role of deputy mayor, having stepped straight into the position as a new councillor when he was first elected.
Cr Simon Chate said Cr Loone had done ‘an amazing job’, and decided not to stand against him as deputy, but did seek a change to make it a one year term, to give other councillors a chance to gain experience in the role.
This amendment was lost, finding support only from Crs Chate and Cr Karsten.
Flood studies
Council then resolved to send the latest Alstonville and Wardell flood studies out for public comment.
Cr Karsten’s amendment, which passed unanimously, added flood portal training for the community (helping people understand potential flood impacts on their properties from a tool on council’s website), with separate sessions for Alstonville and Wardell, and targeted outreach to Jali and Cabbage Tree Island residents.
An update to the Ballina flood study is also up for public comment, including a long-term climate scenario which assumes local rainfall will be 17.6 per cent heavier and sea levels almost 0.5m higher, posing increased challenges for local residents.
Council’s new road traffic study was adopted unanimously. This includes plans for about $459M worth of future work, including traffic lights at the Aldi roundabout and a new road linking Tamarind Drive to Southern Cross Drive.
Cr Phil Meehan criticised the proposed Barlows Road detour as prone to flooding and far over its original cost.
Other issues
Council congratulated all involved with the successful recent Community Connections Expo at Lennox Head, with plans to make it an annual event, including staff assistance and a budget. Cr Karsten said, ‘If there’s one legacy that we as councillors leave behind, if this is it, I’m pretty proud.’
Other announcements included a $518,000 five-year waste contract awarded to Richmond Waste Services, following tender. Ballina Council’s investments were reported at $157.4M.
On the ever contentious issue of the Ballina jetboat, Mayor Cadwallader said she was meeting with Minister Jihad Dib about the lack of qualified people to operate the rescue boat.
‘It sits in the shed, unmanned… so we’re relying on Brunswick Heads and Evans Head in the event of an emergency. I don’t think that’s good enough.
‘We had an old refurbished boat that wasn’t in service; it now is because it’s had the work done on it.’
With Ballina Marine Rescue still waiting for replacement of its main boat, which was destroyed in the Ballina bar tragedy, she said ‘there’s a lot of disquiet going on, and without going into too much detail, being run out of Newcastle is not good for us, as the history is telling us.
‘So I will keep you apprised of how that meeting goes…’
More stories about Ballina Shire Council:
With Ballina Shire Council General Manager Paul Hickey deciding to retire after more than a decade in the role, and almost twenty years time as a staff member, the task of finding a replacement has begun. Cr Damien Loone was also returned as Deputy Mayor after Cr Simon Chate withdrew his nomination. September's meeting opened with a minute's silence for much-loved community member and Lennox Head restaurant owner Blake Rogers, who lost his life last week. Fresh from winning pre-selection as the Nationals candidate for the state seat of Ballina, the 'independent' first-term Ballina councillor Michelle Bailey has put forward a notice of motion asking Council to scrap its fixed 2030 net-zero target in favour of what she describes as a 'flexible sustainability strategy'.
Lennox locals and visitors have reacted with dismay to the announcement that Ross Lane will be completely closed from 19 October to 18 December 2026, while the road is upgraded to better deal with future flooding.
Ballina Shire Council says... Ballina Council has moved to draw a clearer distinction between homelessness and anti-social behaviour, declaring that rough sleeping is not an offence as it puts a new homelessness strategy out for public comment.
Ballina Council will be getting a new general manager
Ballina debates dog parks and net zero
Michelle Bailey targets net zero in Ballina
Ross Lane to be closed for at least two months
Ballina draws line between homelessness and anti-social behaviour
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