Councillor Raelene Carr calls Ilias a modest, quiet achiever who consistently goes the extra mile, often working through the night. Cr Carr said he was vital to the wellbeing of the Whitehorse community and a highly respected staff member.
Ilias has been in the local government sector for 23 years and with Whitehorse City Council for the last 10 years. He was attracted to the local government sector by the diverse opportunities and the contribution he could make to the community. His career began at the City of Sunshine as a Traffic Engineer, followed by stints at the Maribyrnong City Council and Boroondara City Council. Ilias joined Whitehorse City Council as Transport Coordinator in 2003, his first recognised leadership role. After five years leading the Transport Team he was appointed Manager City Works in mid-2008.
As Manager City Works, Ilias’ responsibilities include coordinating and managing construction and maintenance works for Whitehorse’s 700 kilometres of sealed roads, 1400 kilometres of footpath, 900 kilometres of underground drains, 42000 drainage pits, 12 gross pollutant traps, 38 litter baskets, 50000 signs and 72 shopping centres. He also oversees graffiti removal services, street furniture repair and replacement, pavement line marking works, street sweeping, litter bin waste collection, cleaning of public barbecues and toilets, clearing constructed laneways and removal of dumped rubbish. He manages the development, implementation and review of maintenance programs, budget, staff and contractors associated with the management of Council’s civil infrastructure assets.
Ilias says he particularly enjoys the diverse opportunities his role presents. “I am fortunate to be able to work closely with Council’s Executive Management team and councillors to achieve Council’s vision and actively apply my skills and knowledge in the delivery of Council’s strategic objectives.” He welcomes the challenges of the position and the opportunities it affords to lead a diverse team and manage contractors for the betterment of the community. “The professional development opportunities and support I am offered are personally rewarding and satisfying.”
Challenges to the role include responsible management, monitoring and review of the financial aspects of the City’s budget while ensuring compliance with Corporate Services requirements and associated reporting; along with effective and responsible management of the department’s operational budget ($9.3 million) and capital works budget ($5.76 million). Additional challenges are ensuring cost effective delivery of capital works projects to high quality standards, and understanding and application of sustainable asset management principles and practices to facilitate optimum life expectancy, maximum accessibility and affordable levels of service for Council’s assets and infrastructure.
An exciting project Ilias is currently working on is the development of works orders for his department generated from Council’s new Asset Management System. City Works went ‘live’ with works management for plant and fleet assets in the new system in May 2013. “This involves my staff issuing work orders against individual fleet and plant assets. Assets are now managed in a more effective manner as each asset has a unique ID and history of maintenance and expenditure recorded against it.” Staff can analyse the performance of each item of fleet and plant individually and make better-informed decisions.
Another highlight of Ilias’s career was a role as Council’s Project Manager for the Springvale Rd/Whitehorse Rd Detailed Improvement Study in 2007 and 2008. The study concluded that the benefits associated with the grade separation of the railway line below Springvale Rd, Nunawading would result in significant enhancements to traffic flow and capacity, as well as improvements to safety and operation for all transport users and pedestrians. Council successfully advocated for construction of the railway grade separation, total project cost $140 million.
