Speaking at a press conference yesterday morning, Glenn Inglis said his immediate priority was to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of council, which has been laced in turmoil in recent months.

“First up I would like to hear from the councillors and the staff about what the issues are €and we will do that over the course of today and tomorrow,” the local government veteran said.

Mr Inglis was brought in to fill the void left by former general manager Shane Burns, whose employment contract was terminated early in controversial fashion last week following a prolonged and public stoush with mayor Laurie Bishop. The former Tamworth general manager confirmed he would not be applying for the job, but would be assisting council with the process.

He is expected to be in the role for about six months or until a permanent replacement is found.

“Interim general manager locum services, as I call them, are sort of what I do now since I left as a full-time general manager,” Mr Inglis said.

Cr Bishop said councillors voted unanimously to appoint Mr Inglis to the role during the closed session of Thursday night’s extraordinary council meeting, and hoped Mr Inglis would bring stability to the council until a new general manager was found. 

“Having Glenn act in that role, as transition, is absolutely fantastic given his wealth of experience and a lot of history of working in acting roles and general manager roles,” Cr Bishop said.