Former Wodonga mayor Anna Speedie speaks about government intervention at council and qualities needed in next chief executive

Anna Speedie was commenting on the eve of the council deciding who will replace Mark Dixon, who left as chief executive at the end of last year.

Councillors will gather on Monday morning for a formal meeting and go into a closed session to choose the new boss following the engagement of a recruitment firm.

Ms Speedie was party to selecting the last three city CEOs, Gavin Cator, Patience Harrington and Mr Dixon.

"They're going to need somebody who's strong, got vision, who can look forward and continue to drive the community forward," she said of the replacement.

"What we've seen since Mark's gone is the community has really slowed down, some of that is councillors behaving inappropriately but it's also a lack of vision."

Ms Speedie did not name councillors she accused of poor behaviour but specified a number when asked if she was surprised the Victorian government had appointed a monitor to oversee the city.

"No because we've got three people there whose sole intent was to stop things happening, cause disruption and cause mischief and that's such a huge shame," she said.

"I lived through it and it was not a very pleasant situation and it was exhausting."

Ms Speedie believes the division among councillors contributed to Mr Dixon taking a job in Fiji and former deputy mayor Kat Bennett resigning in March.

"I'm not surprised Mark left, I'm not surprised Patience left before that and I'm not surprised that Kat Bennett left," Ms Speedie said.

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She said the changes to the Local Government Act in recent years, which allow the relevant minister to have greater oversight of individual councils, had enable the government to act and appoint a monitor which she thinks is a "great outcome for the city".

Former Ballarat Council chief executive Janet Dore was announced as Wodonga's monitor by Local Government Minister Shaun Leane at the end of April and will be in the job until next January and be providing regular reports to her assignee through that period.

Ms Dore, who oversaw her first council meeting earlier this month, has declined to speak to The Border Mail.

However, she has asked via email to speak to Ms Speedie about past behaviour in the council and the former mayor plans to meet with Ms Dore next month.

Over recent years there has been a bloc of four councillors, including Ms Speedie and her successor as mayor Kev Poulton, who have voted as one on issues that have been opposed by councillors Libby Hall, Ron Mildren and Olga Quilty.

Meanwhile, it is not certain that ratepayers will be notified about who the new council chief executive is by the end of Monday.

Unlike 2019, when Mr Dixon was appointed and there was a media conference held shortly after the meeting to ratify that decision, there are no similar arrangements planned.

The new city leader may not attend their first council meeting until August, given potential requirements with an existing employer.

Mr Dixon's hiring was unveiled in March 2019 but by the time he finished as chief executive at Wodonga TAFE and oversaw his first meeting it was May.

The council will also on Monday set the contract length for the CEO, with Mr Dixon having a four-year deal.

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