Acting Forbes Shire Council General Manager Max Kershaw says it will be business as usual in the Council’s General Manager office, after he was appointed to act in the position. Forbes Shire Council appointed Mr Kershaw in confidence at its last Council meeting on March 18, and he started work on Tuesday this week (March 29).
He has been hired on a rolling, weekly contract, and will perform his duties until early August at the latest, by which time Council hopes to have appointed a new permanent General Manager. Advertisements for the position are expected to be sent out in the coming weeks. Mr Kershaw brings with him many years of rural council management experience, with his most recent job being the GM at the Harden Shire Council.
He retired from the position around 12 months ago, and has been brought out of retirement to work in Forbes. He told The Forbes Phoenix he planned on ensuring communication through the Forbes Shire Council was up to scratch in testing times of possible Council amalgamations.
“My plan is just to keep things moving along without any interruption. It will be business as usual,” he said. “There are obviously amalgamations on the plate with a lot of rural councils at the moment. I’ve worked through three council amalgamations in the past.” “It’s so important to communicate well with staff, especially with so much happening in local councils at the moment.”
Mr Kershaw brings with him an impressive CV that shows no less than 42 years of service to local government in rural NSW. A Parkes born and bred man, he has worked for the Parkes Shire Councils, as well as the councils of the Tenterfield, Yallaroi, Gunnedah, Warren and Narrabri shires.
One might question what brought him out of retirement after so many years of service. He retired to sunny Scarborough, north of Brisbane, in Queensland, but he said family and his passion for local government brought him to Forbes. “I have a great affinity to rural councils, and my sister and her family live here in Forbes,” he said. “I have also known Mayor Phyllis Miller for quite some time now, and I was really chuffed when she asked me to come and
work for the Forbes Shire Council.” “You sort of hit the wall when you retire,
so I thought I could work one last job. I consulted the opportunity with my wife, and she said I should do it.’
While he will only be in the job for about three months, he said he would like to see economic development and youth employment in Forbes improve. He said Forbes was a “pretty” town with a passionate community that set its own
agenda, and looked forward to working with it.