My Job, My Day with David Waddell

Orange City Life had the opportunity to sit down and chat with David Waddell about his role as Chief Executive Officer of Orange City Council.

How did you end up working in local government?

I was a consulting engineer working and living in Sydney on various projects for a company that actually had an office in Orange. We had three little kids, Annie (David’s wife) and I decided to get out of the city for a couple of years. I got a contract to come out to the company’s Orange office and build it up. That was about 15 years ago, and we’ve never left.

After about three years of working for the company here, I didn’t want to go back to Sydney and a job came up for Director of Development at Orange City Council. I decided to go for the job rather than returning to the city and, luckily, I got the role. Ultimately, going on to get the CEO role two-and-half years ago.

What does your typical working day look like?

A typical day, for instance, today I had a breakfast meeting with one of the Directors, we have four here at Council, catching up on projects. Came in and did about 40 emails, got my day ready and met with various staff. We had a meeting with a developer who’s in town hearing about their interest with Orange – we get a lot of that – and talking about what they would want to do if they come here. Part of my job is to help sell Orange.

I went over to the Tiptop building because they’re demolishing it. After that, went to the depot to see some staff members. Came back to the office, had lunch and we’ve been getting the business paper ready for the last council term – which I’ll be reading this afternoon. At the same time, I’m thinking about the next council that’s coming in February.

What do you love most about your job?

I always say it’s the variety and the ability to see what you’re achieving. As an example, if you look at our FutureCity program, revamping around the CBD, it’s really satisfying to look out the window and go ‘woah this is what we dreamed about two years ago’. The variety is just fantastic and as an engineer I really enjoy that aspect.

What’s your favourite place to go to in Orange?

A really good afternoon and night out in Orange is having a couple of quiet beers out at the Gladstone or the Canobolas, having a meal at either Parkview or Union Bank with a little whiskey at Washington’s – that’s a great time. But also, a great day for me in Orange is to go for a bike ride around the mountain, maybe stopping by at the lake, depends on what I’m feeling like at the time.