Media Statement - General Manager Resigns

Warrumbungle Shire Council General Manager Roger Bailey has advised Mayor Kathryn Rindfleish that he will be moving on to take up the Interim General Manager role at Cootamundra Gundagai Regional Council (CGRC). Mr Bailey will commence in his new role following the departure of the incumbent at CGRC on 13 December 2024.

 Mr Bailey is extremely proud of what the team at Warrumbungle Council has achieved during his tenure and the significant progress made on the organisation’s journey.

“Given the journey that we have been through over the past seven years this has been a difficult and emotional decision to arrive at”, said Mr Bailey.

Mayor Kathryn Rindfleish said that she would be very sad to see Roger leave the organisation and wanted to acknowledge the indelible legacy Roger has left on the Warrumbungle area and the very long list of achievements.

“Roger came to Council with a brief to turn around an ailing organisation and he has certainly achieved that. Through his leadership Warrumbungle Council, by almost every objective measure, is a high performing council which is a far cry from where we were only seven years ago. At the time of his arrival Council was facing an investigation by the NSW Office of Local Government, a failing Council housing project (TRRRC), the area entering an extreme drought, Council struggling financially, Council not meeting water standards and having insufficient funds to rectify the situation and areas like Childrens and Community Services not meeting outcomes, including having a backlog of five years of uncompleted financial returns!”, said Cr Rindfleish.

“During his time Roger was able to successfully navigate the organisation through those dilemmas plus deal with many additional challenges, including:

• Transforming the organisation from many years of deficits to four consecutive years of surpluses, with tough decisions made for the long-term stability of the organisation; 
• Guiding the organisation through the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic while maintaining essential services to the community; 
• Making transformational change in the organisation’s culture, underpinned by the organisations values;
• Dealing with a number of declared natural disasters plus securing unprecedented funding through improved claims management;
• Placing a strong focus on leadership development, and building organisational capacity across all levels; 
• Notably, progress was also made in the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, with successful negotiations securing funding and improvements for future benefit of the Warrumbungle community.”

“Roger has achieved some great outcomes for this Council and has been a strong and effective leader during his time here. For these and so many reasons Roger leaves very big shoes to fill and I sincerely wish him all the best for the next chapter” said Cr Rindfleish.

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Last Updated: 06 Nov 2024