As we await the final vote count for the new councillors in Kiama, it is not just the councillor roles that are changing. After the August departure of Jessica Rippon from her Director of Planning, Environment and Communities role at Kiama Council, now another Director has also called it quits. Michael Malone, Director Infrastructure and Liveability has resigned.

No reason has been given, only a post on Council’s website giving a ‘farewell’ to Mr Malone.

Mr Malone said that he was proud of the things that he has achieved during his tenure, including a new play zone at Hindmarsh Park that opened a week before the school holidays, and the re-opening of Jamberoo Mountain Road.

It’s fair to say that Mr Malone has had a challenging set of circumstances to work within, including the Council’s financial position and the various extreme weather events that have affected the community, plus operating under the NSW Government issued Performance Improvement Orders.

CEO Jane Stroud announced that Seren McKenzie, who has worked in engineering and management roles for the last 18 years, will step into the Acting Director’s role in the interim to assist in leading the team. Prior to joining Kiama Municipal Council in June this year, Ms McKenzie was the Director Infrastructure and Operations at Townsville City Council where she led a team of 1,000 staff delivering across various service areas including Engineering and Asset Infrastructure Planning; Property, Fleet and Emergency Management; Resource Recovery; Construction Maintenance and Operations; and Water.

Ms Stroud said, “Given Seren’s strong skillset and the imminent swearing-in of our new Councillors, I wanted to ensure the role was filled immediately. We will consider when is the best time to conduct permanent recruitment for this role.”

Here is a link to Council’s website post.