Armidale Regional Council (ARC) General Manager James Roncon has today advised Mayor Sam Coupland that he will not be seeking a fifth year of his contract. Mr Roncon is resigning on 10 January 2025 to make way for a new General Manager to drive the long-term vision of the newly elected Council.
Mr Roncon is extremely proud of what Team ARC has achieved during his tenure and the significant progress made on the organisation's transformational culture journey.
"This has been a difficult and emotional decision to arrive at but one I believe to be in the best interests of ARC and the region.
"With a new Council having been sworn in on 9 October 2024 it is only fair that they have a General Manager (GM) committed to the long-term vision they will seek to drive. My decision will provide Council the opportunity to recruit my replacement early in their term and allow them to progress that vision with a new GM at the helm, for the length of their elected term. It's the right thing for me to do.
"My focus over the next three months will be to support the new council's induction to elected life and assist where I can with the recruitment process."
Mayor Sam Coupland said he would be very sad to see James leave the organisation and wanted to acknowledge the indelible legacy James has left on the Armidale region.
"James came to ARC with a brief to turn around an ailing organisation and he has certainly achieved that. Through his leadership ARC is now, by almost every objective measure, a high performing council which is a far cry from where we were only four years ago.
Other General Managers may have similar qualifications and contacts, but James' unique skill set is the way he relates to people and can build a team. The best example of this was when one of the outdoor staff said to me "… I would follow him wherever he asked me to, I trust him that much …". There aren't many corporate leaders who engender that sort of respect.
For so many reasons James leaves very big shoes to fill and I sincerely wish him all the best for the next chapter, whatever that may be."
As James reflects on his time with ARC, he cannot be any prouder of the progress team ARC have made as an organisation. These include:
- A transformational change in the organisation's culture, underpinned by values and behaviours-based leadership.
- A fully aligned workforce delivering the strategic aspirations of the elected council.
- The development of leadership across the organisation (and at all levels), with a focus on increasing and improving capability and capacity to ensure long term success.
- A focus on people over tasks which has allowed us to build trust, increase engagement, and drive organisational success.
- A completely revamped local strategic planning statement that sets a growth agenda for the region that is clearly linked to job creation to underpin population growth.
- A complimentary local housing strategy that supports the growth agenda, informs future growth corridors and provides certainty for developers.
- The introduction of asset management planning and a framework to guide future actions.
- The successful implementation of a special rate variation to address systemic financial issues historically plaguing council.
- Complimented by prudent financial management and corrections to systemic weaknesses across the portfolio.
- Successfully addressing the systemic governance shortcomings as detailed in the Minister's performance improvement order (PIO) and continuing to build on those frameworks to ensure a well-run council.
- And the many more success stories, to many to list.
