Transitional CEO of the newly deamalgamated Douglas Shire Council, Jeff Tate, joined members of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce for breakfast at The Combined Club yesterday.

The morning provided an opportunity for Mr Tate to introduce himself, and report what progress has been made on transferring organisation, staff and assets from Cairns Regional Council to the new Douglas Shire Council, the next step after the recent deamalgamation poll.

As Mr Tate explained, at the first meeting of the Local Advisory Committee (LAC) last Tuesday, June 11, he addressed his progress in developing the transfer action plan. "The key to the success of this transition was communication," Mr Tate said, "it is vital to engage with both the resident and business communities."

He is now actively meeting with individual and group stakeholders, and this will continue with additional advice from the LAC members until Jan 1 2014, when the new council is officially launched. As the LAC is not a decision-making body, its primary function is to advise the Transition CEO, via information from members' knowledge of, and experience and familiarity with the Douglas Shire, and the same from member contacts within the local community.

Mr Tate is eager to update the community on a regular basis throughout the transition process. Though currently bound by Cairns Regional Council's pre-deamalgamation media agreement, he is looking to make news on tenders and public notices more easily available.

One important consideration is information technology, and a strategy will be developed shortly to address needs created through deamalgamtion, and to sustain Douglas Shire Council in the future. Already, a step in this process is complete - securing the domain name douglas.qld.gov.au.

Mr Tate fielded some questions from guests, discussing future financial planning for the new council, how to source information on tender opportunities during the transition period, assurances on the continuity of pre-deamalgamation poll public works, election dates, transfer of assets, and future council staffing.

Many of these will be answered as the transition and transfer plans are finalised, but Mr Tate was confident the staffing for the new Douglas Council would come from the present Mossman office staff, with any shortfall filled from the local region, where available. He noted the water plant would need specialist staff, possibly recruited from outside the region, and reassured guests staffing decisions would only be made after identifying exact role requirements.

To complete due diligence, Mr Tate is meeting with Cairns CEO Peter Tabulo monthly, and receiving support from accountant and qualified auditor Peter McGrath, auditor of the former Douglas Shire Council. Mr Tate is confident most matters will be concluded in due course, though  he said it's likely some matters will be ongoing after the Douglas Shire Council commences next year as they can only be finalised immediately after the official handover.

Keep checking out The Newsport for the latest from Mr Tate and his team....

Transitional CEO of the newly de-amalgamated Douglas Shire Council, Jeff Tate, joined members of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce for breakfast at The Combined Club yesterday.

The morning provided an opportunity for Mr Tate to introduce himself, and report what progress has been made on transfering organisation, staff and assets from Cairns Regional Council to the new Douglas Shire Council, the next step after the recent de-amalgamation poll.

As Mr Tate explained, at the first meeting of the Local Advisory Committee (LAC) last Tuesday, June 11, he addressed his progress in developing the transfer action plan.

"The key to the success of this transition was communication," Mr Tate said, "it is vital to engage with both the resident and business communities."

He is now actively meeting with individual and group stakeholders, and this will continue with additional advice from the LAC members until Jan 1 2014, when the new council is officially launched. As the LAC is not a decision-making body, its primary function is to advise Mr Tate through collated information from members' local contacts, plus related knowledge and views.

Mr Tate is also eager to update the community on a regular basis throughout the transition process. Though currently bound by Cairns-based pre-de-amalgamation agreements, he is looking to make news, tenders and public notices more easily available.

Information technology is an important consideration, and a strategy will be developed shortly to meet the needs of the de-amalgamtion and sustain Douglas Shire Council in the future. One step in this process, securing the domain name 'douglas.qld.gov.au', is complete.

Mr Tate fielded some questions from guests, relating to issues including future financial planning for the new council, how to find out about tender opportunities during transition period, assurances on the continuity of pre-de-amalgamation poll public works, election dates, transfer of assets, and future council staffing.

Many of these will be answered as the transition and transfer plans are finalised, but Mr Tate was confident the staffing for the new Douglas Council would come from the present Mossman office staff, with any shortfall filled from the local region, where available. He noted the water plant would need specialist staff, possibly recruited from outside the region, and reassured guests staffing decisions would only be made after identifying exact role requirements.

To complete due dilligence, Mr Tate is meeting with Cairns CEO Peter Tabulo monthly, and receiving support from accountant and qualified auditor Peter McGrath, auditor of the former Douglas Shire Council. Mr Tate is confident most matters will be concluded in time. He said it's likely some matters will be ongoing after the Douglas Shire Council commences on January 1 next year, because they can only be finalised immediately after the official takeover.

Keep checking out The Newsport for the latest from Mr Tate and his team....