Finnigan Appointed Muswellbrook General Manager
BY JEM ANSHAW
The newly appointed Muswellbrook Shire Council general manger Derek Finnigan is not a new face, rather one that has been with the organisation for most of his working career.
“It’s very humbling, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be council’s general manager,” Mr Finnigan shared when asked how it felt to be the successful applicant after last week’s Council decision.
“I’m very proud of this community and very proud of this Shire, we’ve done a lot of great things.”
When discussing what he is looking forward to in the new role, finalising some of the larger infrastructure projects is something Mr Finnigan is excited to be a part of.
“We’re looking towards replacing our final timber bridge, and it’s these long term strategic projects that really signal Council’s intention to continued to be a high performing Council, and providing strong commitment to our local community to ensure our prosperity, liveability, sustainability and really importantly, our accessibility for all of our residents and businesses,” he shared at Council’s Budget Breakfast last week.
“It’s really important for us to engage with all sectors of our community to ensure that everyone has a voice and that we are responding positively and appropriately to those voices.”
There are a number of projects underway that Mr Finnigan said will help improve the economic diversification as well as social and educational opportunities within the Muswellbrook Shire.
Following 15 years working with Transport for NSW, Council has helped get edge and centre markings on Bylong Valley Way, which Mr Finnigan said may not sound like much to some people but as a major link road, being able to deliver these safety features is a great thing.
“Another aspect I’m really keen to continue to develop is ensuring that our more remote communities have upgrades to the road infrastructure, so that they are more resilient to floods and also to bushfires, so that the Rural Fire Service have quicker response times across those roads to reach those areas,” he said.