A community reference group convened to assist with the recruitment of Armidale Regional Council's next general manager has been highly successful in providing public input to the selection criteria, according to Interim Administrator Viv May.
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"It was heartening," Mr May said.
"People can see the complexity of what has been happening here and just want to move on."
Twenty-nine residents attended Tuesday night's session, representing a cross section of the population Mr May said.
People can see the complexity of what has been happening here and just want to move on
- Viv May
"We had what I would consider to be 30 fresh faces in a room last night," he said .
"We didn't allow suspended councillors to attend and people who had previously stood for election were a low priority in the selection process. It was a good cross section in terms of male, female and age.and provided a very constructive outlook towards a positive future for the region."
Mr May applauded the community's high level of interest, with a total of 61 people nominating to be involved, ranging in age from 23 to 78 and including good representation of Guyra and Armidale.
A random ballot of the eligible nominees was conducted to select a final list of participants.
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"They included a number of new voices and I was heartened by the honesty in the room and acknowledgement of the challenges before us," Mr May said.
"They provided a first-class contribution, with every participant eager to look towards the future rather than dwelling in the past.Good communication skills came across as one of the most desirable attributes."
Mr May conducted the forum with council's Interim General Manager, David Kerr, and Local Government NSW's Manager of Local Government Management Solutions, Mark Anderson.
"We were all appreciative of the respectful and constructive input and we have many notes from the evening to consider," he said.
"While I am yet to determine who will be on the final recruitment panel, I'm investigating options to further involve the Armidale region community."