HORSHAM Rural City Council’s new chief executive Sunil Bhalla finished his first day in the top job yesterday.
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Mr Bhalla replaced former chief executive Peter Brown, who tendered his resignation in October last year after seven years in the position.
Mr Bhalla’s former role was as infrastructure services director at the City of Maribyrnong.
However, he has served in local government roles for 25 years where he spent 12 years in senior management positions.
Mr Bhalla started his career in the private sector, but he said local government work was where he belonged.
“Local government is one tier of the government, but because it is so close to the community it can make the most difference by helping people go about their daily lives and improving their lifestyle,” he said.
“Working with the community is what I love.
“I spent the first seven years of my working life in the private sector, but once I got into local government I have not looked back.”
Mr Bhalla said he wanted to meet resident to gain their feedback about what the council could do to improve services for the community.
“Clearly the local government sector is going through changes with rate capping and there will be a lot of pressure on finances. Horsham, I must say, is in a very good financial position,” he said.
“However, going forward we need to make sure our services are clearly aligned with the community’s expectations.”
Mr Bhalla said he hoped to diversify employment opportunities within the municipality.
“We have a good economy and our unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent is lower than the Victorian average. I want to sustain those jobs and diversify our economy,” he said. “We have a strong agricultural sector, retail and health services, but we also need to be bring more jobs into Horsham to have a diversity of opportunities especially for young people because at the moment that diversity is not there.
“Hopefully we can target some new markets for jobs.”
Mr Bhalla said he was excited to lend his knowledge and skills to the municipality and assist its council in achieving its vision.
He said he felt privileged to serve the community and help make a difference.
“Horsham has so much going for it. It is a thriving community with a great economy and a good lifestyle,” he said.
“The municipality has its range of challenges that most rural and regional governments are facing, but I feel like I have got a lot to offer to help the council and community deal with some of those challenges.”