Wholesale changes are being made in the upper echelons of Wagga council, with two new senior bureaucrats appointed.
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The Daily Advertiser understands a chief financial officer has been installed for the first time, as part of a major restructure quietly ushered in earlier this month.
Council refused an interview and would neither confirm or deny the new appointments, deeming any new hires “confidential” until the end of the year.
Council declined to explain why the appointment of senior public bureaucrats was a secret.
It is also understood council has appointed a new commercial “sector manager”, replacing highly regarded economic development director James Bolton who accepted a redundancy package two weeks ago.
Mr Bolton was leading ongoing negotiations with council’s preferred Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RIFL) Hub commercial partner Genesee and Wyoming Australia before accepting a golden parachute.
Councillors fought for $23 million worth of state and federal roadworks funding to enable the construction of a groundbreaking freight facility in Bomen, but despite repeated assurances council has not inked a deal with a private operator.
A council spokeswoman promised the new commercial sector manager would be “highly qualified”.
The new restructure does away with five directorates, corporate services; commercial and economic development; environment and community services; infrastructure services; and planning.
Before the latest round of appointments, the five directors had been whittled down to two.
Council has been without an infrastructure services director since November 2015 when Heinz Kausche bowed out.
It came in the same period a failed loan to Douglas Aerospace left ratepayers $2.1 million out of pocket. The Douglas Aerospace scandal also contributed to the departure of former general manager Phil Pinyon and commercial director Peter Adams.
In February, planning boss Andrew Crakanthorp was placed on paid special leave for four months, before ultimately jumping ship to Murrumbidgee council.
Only community services director Janice Summerhayes and corporate services director Craig Richardson survived the turbulence, but their roles within the new structure are being kept secret.
Recruitment for positions under the new structure started in August but not all jobs have been filled. Council claims the new management structure “has an emphasis on financial accountability”.