Boulia Shire Council, Queensland
Boulia Shire Mayor Rick Britton nominated Jane as a Council high achiever, praising the great professional skills she has displayed in a wide range of areas.
With the CEO being at the frontline of all council departments, Jane as the Executive Assistant to the CEO is the go between for the public and other council staff. Excellent feedback from current and previous CEOs reflects Jane’s professionalism and character.
Jane has been with Boulia Shire Council for more than three years. It is her first local government job, and she has previously studied a Bachelor of Arts, worked in customer service, done data entry for accountants, and worked as a cook on a cattle station. Jane has a family history in local government – her grandfather was a Councillor for Wondai Shire in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
As Executive Assistant, on a daily basis Jane organises accommodation for staff and councillors, and is responsible for minutes and agendas for council meetings. Boulia Shire Council is very large geographically, with over 61,000 square kilometres, but has a population of only 490. Hence the rate base is only one million dollars per year. As Boulia is a very small council with 40 staff members, only nine in administration, Jane is often allocated tasks that would be considered outside the scope of the executive assistant in bigger councils.
Jane says she likes working in such a close-knit community because there is a good feeling of being part of a team and part of the community. “I feel we can work towards and achieve goals together.” She also enjoys how tasks vary from day to day according to the Council’s activities at the time. “This variation allows me to gain exposure and experience with a lot of different procedures, protocols and regulations which is capacity building for me.”
Jane finds that every day working at Council is a new challenge. “I never have the same type of project; they can differ from funding applications to researching to organising effective communication between the departments.” She is currently working on a funding application to put an additional ablutions block on the Racecourse Reserve on behalf of the Rodeo Association. The need for this project has been highlighted in surveys carried out during events.
One of Jane’s successes in her time at Council has been implementing regular management and staff meetings for the office. She was also the primary contact and organiser for Western Queensland Local Government Association for two annual conferences in Winton and Barcaldine. “Organising conferences in another town takes trust in your counterpart there and good communication skills. It was very interesting being part of the team organising the conference, while never seeing the venues or knowing the caterers.”
A career highlight for Jane was her nomination to participate in the LGMA (Local Government Managers Australia) Ignite program for new leaders and managers. Another highlight was working for local government ‘legend’ Vince Corbin for two years, which increased her interest in pursuing a career in local government.
