Shire stalwart moving on
Golden Plains starts hunt for new chief after 23 years
GOLDEN Plains Shire’s first, and only, chief executive, Rod Nicholls, is retiring after 23 years leading the council.
The shire will start searching for his replacement soon, with Mr Nicholls finishing his long career in mid-December.
While he has led Golden Plains since its inception in 1994, he has spent more than 47 years in local government.
Mr Nicholls said the shire’s transition from a rural farming community into a collection of growing satellite towns was stark.
“Our main population centre, Bannockburn, was a small country town then — today it is growing rapidly and is now home to over 6000 residents,” he said. “While agriculture is still important, retail and light industry now employ many residents, with a proportion also commuting to Geelong, Ballarat and Melbourne.”
Mr Nicholls cited the backing of almost 900 projects through a community grants program, the Golden Plains Food Production Precinct and providing quality daycare, maternal child health and kindergarten services as highlights.
“We are fortunate to have had strong community leaders who have formed stable councils led by the mayor of the day,” he said. “Although there have been many robust discussions and differing opinions, we have been able to achieve amazing outcomes.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to work closely with many passionate community members and groups, and together we have been able to achieve results that have significantly improved the quality of life for residents.”
Golden Plains expects its new chief executive to begin immediately after Mr Nicholls ends his term.