ALBURY-educated Lyndon Webb, who became a troubleshooter at dysfunctional councils around Victoria, has been lauded as an "absolute top operator".
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The 74 year-old died last week in Gippsland, where he had been based since 2001 after having been the chief executive of Towong Shire in the Upper Murray.
Mr Webb had grown up on the Border, attending Albury High School, and worked for the now defunct Hume Shire Council in the 1980s.
Lockhart Shire general manager Peter Veneris and ex-Hume mayor Bill McDonald described Mr Webb as ahead of his time while working as an engineer at the shire that covered Table Top, Gerogery and Jindera.
"Having qualifications in multiple local government disciplines was not as common in the eighties and it held him in good stead for his future roles as a local government CEO," Mr Veneris said, noting Mr Webb had town planning credentials.
Mr McDonald said: "Some of the ideas he mooted the council didn't have the finances to put in and they are being put in place now as Albury expands to Hume Shire."
He cited the closure of the Perrymans Lane level crossing on the Hume Highway in later years as an example of Mr Webb's far-sightedness.
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Mr McDonald said Mr Webb "was an absolute top operator" and he was not surprised to see him enjoy a career in senior roles at Melbourne councils and helm regional shires.
A previous Towong councillor John Scales, who was involved in appointing Mr Webb at his council, said he "proved to be an excellent CEO" and was central to an environmental shake-up that saw old tips in various towns shutdown and transfer stations introduced to the area under EPA guidance.
Twenty years ago this month, Mr Webb became chief executive of Wellington Shire based at Sale in Gippsland, telling The Border Mail at the time he had been flattered to be approached for the job.
He had that role until 2009 and then afterwards became a go-to man for the Victorian government looking for someone to reform troubled councils.
Mr Webb spent time in that role at Brimbank and Darebin councils in Melbourne and at Latrobe in Gippsland.
In 1994 he was founding president of LGPro, a body that represents Victorian local government employees.
Mr Webb was married to Carmel, a daughter of former member for Albury Harold Mair.
He died at Central Gippsland Health at Sale on March 2.
A funeral service for Mr Webb will be held on Wednesday March 9 from 1pm in the Geoff Rossetti Memorial Chapel, next to the Sale Cemetery, before a private cremation.