Manager of Governance at Bayside City Council, Terry Callant, has had an esteemed career in local government; he has been at the beachside municipality since 1995.
Located in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs, Bayside has 17KM of uninterrupted foreshore, which stretches from Brighton to Beaumaris.
Mr Callant told Local Government Focus he takes great pride in the local community he serves: “Our community is well educated, well connected and takes a keen interest in the business of Council.
“Of course Bayside’s iconic Bathing Boxes sets us apart from any other municipality, and it’s a pleasure driving to work along Beach Road for another day in the office.”
Bayside Councillor Felicity Frederico nominated Mr Callant as a ‘High Achiever’, describing him as “the corporate memory of the organisation” and “the glue” that helps Council function smoothly.
Mr Callant explained his role involves facilitating good governance for the elected Council and encompasses a wide range of tasks, including: managing Council meeting cycles; ensuring the organisation complies with necessary legislation; overseeing special committees ranging from Arts and Culture to CEO Employment Matters Committee.
The position is also responsible for civic and ceremonial functions for Council, such as citizenship ceremonies.
“With over 35 years of experience in local government, I’ve developed a strong sense of how the sector functions,” said Mr Callant.
“I have been employed at Bayside since 1995 but have worked in the local government sector since 1979. I guess you could call me a local government tragic, but I just love local government and strongly believe in it.”
Mr Callant said he has gained a diverse grounding in the sector. He began as an accounts clerk at the former City of Oakleigh and then after amalgamations hit Victoria in 1994, he became an Administrative Coordinator in the newly created City of Monash.
“It wasn’t until mid-1995 an opportunity arose here at Bayside City Council where I moved to become the Administrative Coordinator working for the Commissioners, then later to the elected Council.
“Since that time I had an opportunity to work directly for the Chief Executive Officer as his Executive Officer and later transitioned to Manager Governance, my current position.”
He said he enjoys the diversity of his current role.
“I really enjoy working with the Mayor and Councillors, establishing strong relationships and helping them to succeed in their role. I’m a process person so I enjoy the Council meeting side of things including procedures and protocols.
“I’m lucky my position offers me diversity, the coordination of civic and ceremonial functions for the Mayor of the day helps add a bit of interest to the work.”
He cites a varied list of successes during his time in local government: “From a purely governance perspective it has been ensuring the elected Councillors have not been subjected to any investigations or a Code of Conduct hearing.
“However, other successes have included introduction of electronic agendas and software and, more recently, conducting a 100th Anniversary Anzac Dawn Service for the community of Bayside which attracted in excess of 15,000 people.”
The role is not without challenges: “We are a very small team at Bayside so our resources are stretched and recent changes to legislation will have a huge impact upon our team.”
Mr Callant said he currently gearing up for a particularly busy period as Victorian Local Government elections loom closer and he will be charged with inducting a new batch of Councillors.
“It’s that time of the Council cycle where I am planning for the 2016 Council Elections, so there is plenty of planning underway particularly around the Councillor Induction Program to ensure that the new elected Councillors are well informed of their obligations and key areas of the organisation – but not over burden them with too much information within the first three months.”
