Great Council receives its fair share of critisim at times, however the Local Council continues to shine above many of its LGA peers.

Testament not only from the recent ‘Stand Alone’ announcements, where Great Lakes Council was named not to merge with other Councils, but also by way of yet another award won by staff.

Procurement Coordinator, Ms Deb Tuckerman has won the 2015 NSW Local Government New Procurement Professional Award.

The Award was announced at the 2015 Local Government Procurement Annual Conference held on 19 and 20 November in Sydney.

The annual award commenced in 2012 to recognise someone who has worked in the field of procurement for less than two years.

Ms Tuckerman was also amongst 11 local government professionals from around NSW who completed a Diploma of Government (Procurement and Contracting) qualification this year.

“We are very pleased to see Deb pick up this Award,” said Council’s Director of Corporate and Community Development, Mr Steve Embry.

“Deb is a highly skilled professional with strong people engagement and facilitation skills. The outcome achieved from her applying these skills to procurement over the last two years is a modern procurement policy, improved risk management in procurement decisions, improved value in procurement contracts, and professional support for staff involved in the purchase of goods and services across Council.

“We now have positive progress in procurement systems and processes which set in place a solid platform for the next phase of procurement development at Great Lakes Council.”
Ms Tuckerman said the job provided a great opportunity to contribute to the organisation and the community.

“It’s not all about buying pens and pencils. Council is taking a strategic approach to maximise value for money from its purchases.”

“It’s about helping staff across the organisation to ensure we get the best possible value out of each dollar we spend and meet all probity and legislative requirements.”

Council had been without a dedicated procurement position for some time prior to Ms Tuckerman’s appointment.

Procurement RoadMap Program was facilitated by Local Government Procurement in 2012 which looked at Council’s current level of procurement expertise and identified opportunities for improvement.

“Staff across the organisation is responsible for purchasing goods and services and managing contracts. Reviewing Council systems and practices has been a priority. My role is to provide support to these staff, as well as looking at strategic opportunities to achieve value for money. It’s a team approach,” said Ms Tuckerman.

“There are a wide range of options available to councils these days in terms of how we buy goods and services and we are constantly reviewing the way we do things to help identify opportunities for savings which can be used for other organisational priorities and works. This includes looking at opportunities to work with other councils to achieve better outcomes,” she said.