Executive Team, City of Prospect, South Australia
Over the past few years the brand City of Prospect can be found on numerous local government, state, national and international trophies, recognising their outstanding leadership, innovation, forward thinking, major project management, and inner city urban planning and design. The scope of these achievements cannot be understated given the City of Prospect is one of Adelaide’s smallest municipalities.
Whether being recognised in New York City as a Global Top 21 Smart City, or accepting the LGMA (SA) Outstanding Excellence in Leadership and Management Award for the second year in a row, these accolades reflect the professionalism, skills and dedication of a tight knit Executive Team that has helped shape, translate and deliver a number of very complex projects (some of which were delivered in parallel) to realise the vision and four-year strategic plan set by the Elected Members and the community.
Councillor Katrina Barnett nominated the Executive Team for, amongst other things, “Trying to improve Council’s sustainability, especially as a leading South Australian city in terms of the NBN rollout”.
The City of Prospect Executive Team has been nominated for and/or won many awards in the past couple of years. These include the $3.4 million Prospect Road redevelopment, which won the ‘Design and/or Construction of a Public Works Project’ section of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia SA Division Excellence Awards 2012.
Sarah Construction, which undertook the major reconstruction and renovation of the Prospect Oval for Council, won the ‘Commercial Construction $1 million to $10 million award’ in the Australian Institute of Builders (SA Chapter) Professional Excellence in Building Awards 2012.
And in 2011, Director Corporate Services & Major Projects, Justin Commons won the LGMA (SA) Excellence Awards for Leadership and Management Excellence – Metro Councils.
It is not surprising that the City of Prospect is proud of their Executive’s recent achievements; both community and Council are realising the benefits of having an Executive Team that tackles a reform agenda with passion and a willingness to adopt new ideas with a ‘can do’ attitude.
Frank Zaknich, General Manager, Broken Hill City Council, New South Wales
Frank Zaknich was nominated by Councillor Darriea Turley for setting standards of excellence in his role as General Manager at Broken Hill City Council.
Frank has worked in regional, rural and metropolitan councils throughout NSW and South Australia for many years. He brings a vast range of qualifications to his role as General Manager, including an MA in Business Administration, and certificates and diplomas in management, planning, and environmental health and building surveying.
Frank started his career in local government as a trainee health and building surveyor with Broken Hill City Council. Over the next 20 years he developed his local government skills and experience across two states, leading and participating in a number of highly successful organisations.
When Frank returned to the City of Broken Hill Council in 2006 as General Manager he brought with him a high level of experience in change management, community governance, strategic and regional planning.
Frank has secured a wide range of community services and facilities during his time at Broken Hill Council. He assisted in establishing the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority and, more recently, his community development activities include membership of Regional Development Australia Far West and the Broken Hill Community Foundation.
Frank’s comprehensive knowledge of the region and his breadth of skills can only add to the success of Council in representing the best interests of the Broken Hill community.
