Council & Business
2 August, 2024
Interim chief officer appointed to Central Goldfields Shire for nine months
With local government elections only months away, the Central Goldfields Shire Council has appointed a new interim CEO to lead the organisation “through a pivotal time”.
On September 2, Melbourne-born Sally Jones will step into the position, vacated by Lucy Roffey, and will take on the reins until mid-2025.
Ms Jones has 24 years of metropolitan and rural local government experience, including multiple executive level undertakings.
Most recently, she has been working as the general manager for community strengthening at the Kingston City Council.
While Ms Jones has held the acting CEO position on several occasions in the past, the upcoming term will be her longest in the job.
Mayor Liesbeth Long said council was pleased to welcome Ms Jones to the role.
“We all look forward to working closely with Sally for the remainder of our term,” she said.
“Sally will be with us for approximately nine months and will lead the organisation through a pivotal time — starting with the October council elections, followed by overseeing the councillor induction program and supporting the newly elected council as they commence the task of appointing a new, permanent CEO in 2025.”
As she prepares to kick things off under the new title, Ms Jones spoke to The Advertiser about the potential obstacles, opportunities and avenues for growth she foresees during her tenure.
What are some of the areas you’re going to focus on?
It’s a really unique time to be coming into an interim role [as] we’ve got the local government elections coming up.
So, there’s work to finish, there’s work to plan, and there’s work to start all around the elections.
We’ve got the existing council, the election comes in between, then we’ll have the new council, and then that brings with it work to develop the council plan and the vision with the new council — that is always really good and exciting to do.
Do you think it’s going to be challenging working through that transition period in the new role?
No, not at all. I’ve worked in local government for a long time, and so I’ve worked with an existing council and a new council multiple times.
I think as a CEO, one of the first things I will be wanting to do is to getting to know councillors quite quickly — what drives them, what’s worked really well for them over the last four years, and if they’re running again, what they’d like to do in the next four years.
It’s really important for me to understand where they and the organisation’s at.
The council has had a tumultuous past and there’s a sense of distrust within the community — is that something you might have to contend with?
There’s history... [but] I don’t think that necessarily affects where we’re going.
We’re into a really positive cycle now. I am obviously new and there’s lots for me to learn and there’ll be questions asked of me but it’s about understating that, that was an important time in the Central Goldfields but we’re past that now.
It’s really important to make sure there is open discussion and some good vision around where we want to go.
Sounds like you’re getting ready to start things off on a high and positive note.
That’s who I am really. I am very authentically positive and I really like a collaborative working environment so that’s what I offer and bring. But that has to go both ways and I’m sure it will.
I have met with the councillors and they are a really lovely group of people and they are very positive.
I think together we are going to be able to move through this transition period really [well].
Because you’re stepping in as the interim CEO for about nine months, if you’ve got long-term plans you might not be able to see them through. Is that going to be an impediment?
No, and the reason for that is that long-term plans belong to council. They’re not my plans.
I will absolutely be there making sure we can plan and deliver but the [vision] belongs to the councillors, the community and the organisation.