Profiles of our staff Cameron McNaught Cameron McNaught’s work has been vital to Council’s IT operations for over 20 years – but never more so than when COVID threatened to shut down many of our services. As Council’s Infrastructure Services Team Leader, Cameron has great experience with a very wide assortment of information technologies. “From starting on the staff ‘help desk’ in 1998 to my current position I have had the advantage of either assisting with the implementation or building nearly all of the IT systems currently in place across Council,” he said. Cameron grew up in the Hornsby Shire, and his dad worked at Council for 32 years before him. So, back in 1998 when Cameron completed his course in Information Technology, he thought he should contact Council’s then IT manager and offer his services unpaid - to build up a bit of work experience. “I was quickly assured things didn’t work like that,” said Cameron laughing. However, his CV remained on file and, not long after, Cameron was offered some casual work on Council’s internal ’help desk’. “And the rest, as they say, is history,” he said. “The work is constantly evolving, and you have to continually adapt – to be a jack of all trades. Much of my time lately, for example, has involved moving everything to the ‘cloud’.” The pace of change has, however, accelerated greatly since COVID struck. “We’ve experienced more change in the last 18 months than in the previous ten years,” said Cameron. “COVID has been both a curse and a fantastic business case, requiring us to adapt quickly so we could help everyone at Council keep working.” Cameron sometimes stayed up to 3.00 am to make sure everything was functional. “During this most recent lockdown, I took a lot of pride in the fact that staff could quickly connect to their work computers from home and log on without any huge dramas,” he said. And with so many of its services needing to move online, Council – and doubtless much of the community – very much appreciate Cameron’s efforts, too.
Frank Amato Frank Amato has devoted close to 30 years serving the Hornsby Shire community, starting out at Council overseeing its parks and workshops, having had previous experience building pavements and resurfacing roads. Before long, however, Frank found himself responsible for acquiring such major Council assets as a depot at Thornleigh, setting up a recycling centre and managing landfill sites. “I enjoy a challenge,” he says with a big smile .Nowadays, Frank’s main responsibility is managing the Wellum Bulla ‘hardfill’ recycling facility at Mt Kuring-Gai and overseeing Council’s ‘heavy fleet replacement’ process. “I started off my working life driving trucks, so it seemed only natural that I also take care of Council’s heavy fleet management,” said Frank. A source of particular pride, however, is the success of the Wellum Bulla facility, which recycles huge amounts of waste building materials, including concrete slabs, bricks and stones. “It’s very satisfying knowing that the work we do here repurposes so many building materials that would otherwise go to landfill.” Frank points out that ‘Wellum Bulla’ in the local Aboriginal language means ‘coming back’, appropriately enough. “I’ve got great staff working with me. They are dedicated, knowledgeable and good at their jobs. And they come up with great ideas”. Whether it is adapting machinery to salvage extra building materials, setting up an onsite ‘men’s shed’, sourcing an electric vehicle for the community at nearby Dangar Island, or keeping nearby residents informed of the site’s operations. “They just make life a lot easier,” Frank said proudly of his workmates.
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Hornsby Shire Council
