Business View Magazine - Oceania Edition - Oct-Nov 2017

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AT A GLANCE WHO: Shire of Pyrenees WHAT: A local government area in western Victoria with a population of 7,000 WHERE: 5 Lawrence St, Beaufort VIC 3373, Australia WEBSITE: pyrenees.vic.gov.au/Home

economic activities of the Council. Jim

has 26 years of experience in local

government across four different mu-

nicipalities, namely Glenelg, Southern

Grampians, Northern Grampians, and

Pyrenees since 2014. Over the years,

he has been closely involved in a varie-

ty of infrastructure projects though his

current role as CEO has him in theman-

agement seat more often than not. He

is also constantly looking for ways to

increase the Council’s economic base

and control its budget more appropri-

ately and efficiently.

Allocating resources for

the road network

For the Pyrenees Shire Council, pri-

mary emphasis is usually placed on

asset renewal. As an example, the

Raglan-Elmhurst road has been an

ongoing project for almost a decade.

The road stands at the top of the local

hierarchy as an important strategic

link road servicing the agriculture and

viticulture sectors. The original con-

struction was a narrow sealed road

which failed to serve the growth of

the area. Over the last 10 years, the

Council has been steadily upgrading

and widening the road with substan-

tial financial investments. In the last

two financial years, the Council com-

mitted just under $1 million for vari-