November 7th, 2026Hepburn Shire a ‘gem’: CEO
Hepburn Shire Council’s interim CEO Janet Dore is loving her new role, saying the region is “a delightful place to be in – it’s just a little gem”.
But Ms Dore also recognises there are financial challenges but says the council has a plan to ensure it can recover its financial health.
“I think the uniqueness of the towns, villages, hamlets, whatever you want to call them, is just delightful. But it does give us challenges because they’re dispersed and each place can’t necessarily have all the same facilities. And prioritisation is a major challenge for council and with lots of historic assets too.”
Ms Dore said while she had not been in full-time work for some time, and didn’t expect to be, there was something “about this place that’s got into my blood”.
“I’ve got out to as many meetings as I can, to various groups. Some of them are dissatisfied and often with good cause but most people I’ve met have been very positive about me as a new CEO.
“And despite the challenges, I’m just relishing in it.” Ms Dore said while she believed there would be no movement on a new CEO until at least the new year, she was not involved in the recruitment in any way.
“That’s a process that the council’s currently going through to recruit the ongoing CEO.”
Ms Dore said there was a “sniffle” of an issue at the moment which involved “a huge amount of debtors who have not paid their rates on time”.
“We probably have not been good enough at getting information out that gives them the opportunity to enter into payment plans. So we’re focusing on that a lot now.
“The legislation did change a year or more ago about the timing of when you can chase up debtor arrears with rates and people are given two years before any kind of action in terms of recovering money can be taken, which is fair enough.
“There has been a history of some quite severe enforcement. But we have a policy now which is much easier. We do not go out and send red letters or employ a contractor to do that and we give people a fair chance.
“And people, especially older people, are very proud about being able to pay their rates and they hate the thought of having to ask for help. That’s been my experience for many, many years and it’s a good thing.
“But we can help with that. You can pay by instalment. You can do it an easier way, a more manageable way.”
Ms Dore was the City of Ballarat’s first CEO after amalgamation from 1994 to 1999.
“I have stuck to the regions and I don’t ever want to go back to a capital city.”
Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed
