The City of Wagga elected Peter Thompson to the position of general manager on a five-year contract at the Extraordinary Meeting of Council on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For the past 10 years, Mr Thompson held the role of general counsel at Tamworth Regional Council and for the past two years has also held the planning and compliance director position.
Mayor Greg Conkey made the announcement and said Mr Thompson’s experience made him best-suited for the role.
“Mr Thompson is highly accredited. He has both law degrees and planning degrees, and science degrees,” he said.
“He’s worked with Tamworth Regional Council for the last 13 years in senior roles. Prior to starting his career as a project officer, he spent seven years in private practice as a lawyer and then he worked with the EPA in this region.
“My fellow councillors and I are excited by this appointment and feel that he will bring the level of stability, commitment and strategic thinking that the community is looking for.”
Mr Thompson is expected to arrive in the city by the end of November. He said his aim as general manager is “to deliver a progressive local government authority with an impeccable level of integrity and public confidence”.
“I'm incredibly impressed by Wagga and its facilities and I'm equally impressed and excited by what it wants to achieve over the coming years,” he said.
“The strategic direction articulated by the council is clear and clever. It will deliver prosperity, quality lifestyles and security to the people of Wagga and I look forward to being a part of the key organisation responsible for making that happen.
“My aim is to be as transparent and accessible to the community and the community should hold me to account on that.”
There were 25 applications for the position by the August 21 closing date and following short-listing, four candidates were interviewed by council members.
Interim general manager James Bolton will continue in the role until Mr Thompson arrives in the city.
“We’ve got so many things under way at the moment; we have over $120 million of infrastructure projects,” Cr Conkey said.
“This is a great time for a new general manager to come on board and be involved in all of those projects.”
