The June floods hit the municipality hard, and took not only an emotional toll on the community, but a physical one too.

Six bridges and more than 50 roads in Meander Valley were damaged, with the region facing repairs totalling up to $4 million in the wake of the state's biggest flood event in 60 years.

"In that initial period it was working out how we were going to manage the recovery, trying to make sure that our community was in a position where they could talk to the people they needed to talk to and support the state government in its efforts to bring a more structured approach to the whole recovery,” Mr Gill said.

“It was a challenge but it was also encouraging because everyone worked together and there was a lot of learnings that were happening along the way … we are conscious that the recovery is going to go on for a while, especially the emotional recovery for our community, because it was a fairly significant event.”

That support from council officers and councillors has been greatly valued by Mr Gill since he took on the role of general manager on August 10, after the retirement of Greg Preece.

He had worked as the director of development services at the council for three and a half years, after moving his young family to Tasmania from Victoria.

“I came into local government as what they call a strategic land use planner, and prior to that my degree was in architecture,” Mr Gill said. “I had been working as an architect and doing some teaching at RMIT university for about 10 years in design and towards the end of that I became interested in urban planning.

“I started just as an officer and slowly worked my way through with support from good people, and about four or five years ago I became interested in management, and the whole local government process.”

An architect by definition is someone who plans, designs, and reviews the construction of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings, so it seems to be a logical step for Mr Gill to have moved into planning on a large scale.

The Bass Coast Shire in Victoria’s south-east was his first taste of council work, during a time when the area was planning for unprecedented growth.

“It was an exciting time, a busy time and it exposed me to a lot of the state government machinations and also how we were going to manage developers and the community through periods of pretty substantial change.”

But Tasmania came calling, with an employment consultant making contact about a move further south.

“My partner fell in love with the place so when Greg [Preece] made me an offer we thought we should give it and go,” Mr Gill said.

“We are very happy we did it because it truly is a beautiful place but it’s also been a great place to raise kids. We have found that our lifestyle is so much more manageable.”

Mr Gill feels confident taking over after a decade of service from Mr Preece, who “left the council in pretty good shape.”

“We work across the departments pretty well at Meander Valley, Greg [Preece] always gave us opportunities to work on some bigger projects like the Hadspen Growth Area Master Plan,” he said.

Completing the Hadspen project is another of Mr Gill’s top priorities, to provide both Greater Launceston and Meander Valley residential areas to grow into over the next twenty to thirty years.

He also said consolidating and progressing the Valley Central Industrial Precinct in Westbury was a major focus for the future, with long-term employment in the region a growing concern.

“There are some really exciting opportunities there at the moment and some proposals on the table that could really bring a strong emphasis on employment, manufacturing and new resource processing to the area which could be fantastic.

“I think re-engaging with our community is another strong priority. Not that we have stopped but I think every now and again we need to check in and I think that’s really important for us.

“Especially as we go through the benchmarking process and the conversations around amalgamations and resource sharing, that we keep informing our community and listening to our community on those issues.”

Mr Gill said the council looked forward to working through the benchmarking process, as debate over local government reform continues across the state.

“My personal view is that local representation is really important, and that whatever model you might move to, that continues to be the keystone around which you provide your services.

“I dont think it’s amalgamation at this point but I do think there is change … [and] I don't think boundary adjustments are necessary at this point in time. Boundary adjustments don’t necessarily address the efficiencies that can be made within some of the local government areas and I don’t think they provide the best outcome for our residents.

“The nature of being in local government is that you are constantly reviewing and looking for improvement and I think the current discussion [about reform] is an extension of that.”