After six months in the role, Kelly Westell has made a big impact as the new CEO of Naracoorte Lucindale Council, bringing in a new way of communicating with the community.

Her probation period has ended “and it’s all good news” with strong support from both the council and the community. Community feedback to the council has been overwhelmingly positive, with some residents even calling her appointment “a spectacular choice”.

Mayor Patrick Ross confirmed her permanent role was endorsed at last month’s council meeting. He said the elected members “considered Kelly’s probation in confidence, as it should be”.

“It was unanimous by all (elected) members that Kelly had brought a new direction to the way in which the council communicates with residents and ratepayers of the Naracoorte Lucindale Council,” Mr Ross said.

“That has been seen by me first hand. Where there have been issues raised with me by email through the council, and for me to address them, I have brought Kelly up to date with the issue at hand.

“The majority of the time, Kelly will pick up the phone, speak to the resident or ratepayer who has the issue, and make an appointment and go and see them.”

The people concerned “then come back to me with emails of support for Kelly, and what a spectacular choice the council has made (for Kelly as CEO), which is incredibly encouraging.”

Mr Ross said good news travelled just as quickly as bad news, “and it’s all good news”.

“It’s all good reports that councillors have heard back from community members that have had or made contact with Kelly over the last six months,” he said.

“Some of the emails I get back, I find really heartening. If someone rings me or writes to me, I will respond as quickly as I can – pretty quickly, and you know, Kelly’s done it!

“She’s a communicator and she’s a problem solver. She wants to resolve issues.”

“She wants a resolution to the issues that are brought forward so they work out for the person involved, but also within the power of what local government can actually do.”

Mr Ross said one example included the Hazara community and a looming 100th anniversary of their leader founding their particular religious pathway.

More than 50 families in Naracoorte wanted to celebrate, with a religious leader from interstate joining them.

“The celebration goes on for between 10 and 14 days every evening, and they were looking for a venue so all the families could gather after work, always after work, so they could have prayers,” Mr Ross said.

“I was approached…and so we had a discussion, and I suggested that he make representation directly to the community engagement manager, Josie Collins.”

Ms Westell and Ms Collins then came up with a proposition for the group to rent the Town Hall at a greatly reduced rate rather than the normal $5000 cost it would have been.

“So that was a great community resolution that’s happened,” Mr Ross said.

“There have been individual ratepayers who have been concerned about issues with local roads and where they haven’t been getting much traction, or, they don’t believe they’ve been listened to.

“Finally, they’ve written directly to myself, and I’ve been able to pass on their concerns directly to Kelly. She has gone and met with them on site.

“Then from those site meetings, Kelly has been able to direct the operations staff to ensure that the issue is dealt with as soon as possible. So it’s all good news,” said Mr Ross, praising the council’s decision to appoint Ms Westell.

Reluctant to accept praise for herself, Ms Westell passed it on to the abilities of those employed by the council as well as Mr Ross, elected members, and the community.

“The experience has been extremely positive so far and it’s important to acknowledge I have joined a council that’s in good shape, with a fabulous team – their expertise, support for me, and commitment to the community make the role much more rewarding,” Ms Westell said.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue working with the NLC council members, employees and the community to help make this district the best it can be and, with the mayor in particular, advocating for our special part of SA.

“Council has plenty of projects to deliver and we’ll continue to look at ways to strengthen our service delivery.

“Looking ahead, there’s a lot to do. I’m intending to spend more time across the district, meeting our ratepayers and residents and finding out what more we can do as a council to support them.

“Council has also just started work on an investment prospectus so I am eager to see that come to fruition so we can promote this incredible area. We’ll also be looking to finalise our housing strategy and making sure our asset plans are delivering the services and infrastructure we need for the future.”

Ms Westell replaced former CEO Trevor Smart who in August last year announced his retirement “to spend more time with family” after 41 years in local government and six years at Naracoorte Lucindale.

At the time Mr Smart announced he would stay on in his position for six months, enabling the council time to find and appoint a new CEO.

This article appeared in The Naracoorte News, 19 March 2025.