CEO Nick Foa will leave Brimbank City Council after five years in the role. 82377 Picture: MATHEW LYNN
By LAURA WAKELY
WHEN Brimbank City Council CEO Nick Foa resigned a week after the announcement administration would continue, he set tongues wagging.
Mr Foa admits the timing was “interesting” but told Star last week the offer to take up the role of General Manager with government body Places Victoria was simply a coincidence.
“I went home that Wednesday (of Government’s announcement) and there was a parcel on my front step with an offer,” Mr Foa said.
“It’s amazing isn’t it? So the two things, the extension with the administrators and me at Places Vic are completely unrelated.”
But the change will be a noticeable one, as Mr Foa has been at the helm of the council for five years, during which time there has been two councils and administration.
Overall, he described his time as “an incredibly rewarding experience” in which he’s helped extend home community care, create a community hub in Derrimut and establish a youth services team.
But the toughest experience, and perhaps most important, has been restoring good governance to Brimbank.
“Making sure we have an evidence base on how we make decisions, making sure we have a policy basis for making those decisions, that we’re making those decisions transparently and ethically.
“So that’s a huge achievement and it’s not a monument you can go and touch, it’s not a building you can cut a ribbon for, but what we’ve achieved… I’m immensely proud of.”
Seeing the community’s restored faith in council has also been a point of pride.
When he started out as CEO he admitted the council could be a difficult place to work, but said there were positives among the bad, many from the Brimbank community
Residents in the West, he said, aren’t afraid to stand up and speak their mind.
Mr Foa praised the number of passionate advocates who had worked with council over the years, along with council staff and the administrators.
Mr Foa will leave the council next Friday for his new role, in which he’ll be involved in creating government developments across the state.
But he said Brimbank had “got under his skin”.
“It was a very emotional decision for me to leave,” he said.
“The people are fantastic, they’re aspirational, every single person is trying to make a better life for their families.”
