The resignation of the Central Coast Council’s Group Leader, Customer and Community Relationships, Ms Judy Jaeger, has been described as an enormous blow for the southern area of the Central Coast.
Multiple independent and unrelated sources said Ms Jaeger’s departure was due to ongoing differences of opinion with another member of the new council’s leadership group. They said Central Coast Council Administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, begged with Ms Jaeger to stay but that he was not prepared to put her interests before those of other members of the new leadership team. Ms Jaeger said: “I won’t be making a comment on my decision to depart from the Central Coast Council after previously having agreed to do so.”
Ms Jaeger was the only director from the former Gosford Council appointed by CEO, Mr Rob Noble, to the merged council’s senior leadership team. The three other Group Leaders were former employees of Wyong Council. Senior representatives of the Gosford business community said they believed Ms Jaeger’s departure has left the southern half of the new local government area without a voice at the most senior level of Council. “We lost a very good senior executive in Judy Jaeger,” said Ms Deborah Warwick, Manager of the Imperial Shopping Centre. “Ms Jaeger had a lot of respect for the people of the area and they held her in very high regard,” Ms Warwick said. “We have no one else at that level in council who has the intimate knowledge of Gosford past, future and present, to ensure the right decisions are being made,” she said.
“I am personally very sorry to see her go,” said Gosford Council’s former Deputy Mayor, Mr Craig Doyle. “I think she was an invaluable asset to Gosford and I am very sorry to see the last of the senior directors that Gosford had go,” Mr Doyle said. “I think she was exceptionally dedicated to what she was doing. “I spent time with her going to America and learning about different options on community housing. “Her contribution to getting the tiny house project going at Gosford was brilliant, but she was much more than that one project and she will be sorely missed,” he said.
SMS, Sep 21, 2016 Judy Jaeger, formerly of Central Coast Council Interview, Sep 20, 2016 Deborah Warwick, Imperial Centre Interview, Sep 19, 2016 Craig Doyle, All Fired Up Fire Protection and Compliance Jackie Pearson, Journalist