'Quirky' character and outstanding south-west public servant calls it a day

The ebullient, funny, energetic and eminently likeable long-time public servant - who is retiring next week after 30 years working in local government in the south-west, 12 as a council director of corporate services - says people have often told him he's in the wrong job.

"I sort of joke about it, but people will say to me 'you've got the wrong sort of personality for an accountant, you're meant to be dull and boring'," he says.

But Mr Leddin has never let the dryness of figures, spreadsheets and budgets get in the way of keeping things fun at work.

He says while the idea of retirement had been knocking around in his head for a while, the stresses and tensions of the past two pandemic-plagued years had made the decision to step back easier.

"It was pushed forward a little by the last two years with COVID, which has been pretty hard going for everyone," he says.

"We have a 'COVID control group' at council, and we've passed 180 meetings of the group over the last two years. It's pushed everyone's buttons a bit."

He says the other perk will be having more time for golf.

"Golf, and things other than work: travel, family, we've got a seventh grandchild due any tick of the clock," he says.

Growing up on a dairy farm in Yambuk, Mr Leddin says while no young kid dreams of being an accountant, he was drawn to the subject in school.

"Honestly, I don't know why," he says.

But he says knowing his way around a budget has proved a priceless foundation for the varied roles he's had over his career.

Starting out at the major accounting firm KPMG in Melbourne in the early 1980s, it wasn't long before Mr Leddin was drawn back to the south-west, working at the Warrnambool firm now known as McLaren Hunt.

He says his first foray into local government was more a matter of getting closer to home.

"It was a job in Port Fairy at the old Borough of Port Fairy as an accountant, that's what got me into local government," he says.

"In those days that just looked after the tiny town of Port Fairy and there was a separate Borough of Belfast that looked after the surrounds."

When the boroughs were all amalgamated into the new Moyne Shire, Mr Leddin moved back to Warrnambool to work as finance manager at Warrnambool City Council.

One common thread through all the stops on his career path was his ability to make friends and improve the culture everywhere he went.

Former WCC chief executive Bruce Anson, who worked closely with Mr Leddin for 13 years, says he "was one of the most fabulous people I've ever worked with".

"I don't know of anyone who doesn't like Kevin. He is technically very good, but his real advantage was his ability to bring people along with him.

"He had a wonderful ability, when things were tough or not that fun, to just crack a joke for a while and all the tension would just wash away," Mr Anson recalls. "He's an absolute top-liner."

Mr Anson points out that Mr Leddin didn't allow himself to get pigeon-holed in his career.

"He had a very diverse career, he worked for the council, he worked for the water board, he worked with Moyne Shire and before that Belfast, he even went out into real estate," he says.

Mr Leddin concedes the move into real estate was as much about a change of scene as anything else.

"I didn't want to be a green-shaded accountant all my life," he laughs.

He worked for Robertson Real Estate in Port Fairy for seven years in the early 2000s before being drawn back to local government.

"I remember why Kevin left the real estate business," Mr Anson says.

"He said he realised one day he was reading the death column in the paper and thought 'jeez that means I'm not busy enough!'

"He loves to be busy."

But Mr Anson argues the move back to local government also came from a desire to work with the community.

Mr Leddin says that is what he loves most about the job.

"The most rewarding thing, particularly in Moyne, has been the partnership with community. Local government here works with small communities, there are no big towns.

"We have a massive reliance on volunteerism, and rural people will just roll up their sleeves and have a go," he says.

Mr Leddin says the collaborative aspect of local government - where so many of the projects and decisions are community driven and council plays a supporting role in realising the ambitions of ratepayers - is what made him excited to come into work each day.

He also says local councillors aren't given enough credit for the work they do day-in-day-out for the community.

"It's often a thankless job, being a councillor, but they put a lot of time and energy into trying to get the best outcomes for the community.

"They're expected to make decisions on a huge range of issues, some of them quite technical, so I think they do a pretty good job. So I tip my hat to them," he says.

He argues the work of council has become increasingly difficult over the 38 years since he started at the Borough of Port Fairy.

"I think over time everything has become more complex, and finding the decision that is best for the community has become harder."

He says much of this complexity has bureaucratic origins.

"I guess the frustrating bit over my career has been the growth in compliance, regulation and reporting, which takes up a lot of time, effort and resources.

"It's necessary to a degree, but the extent of it one might debate."

Asked whether there are particular projects he is most proud of over his career, Mr Leddin equivocates.

"Oh, they're probably boring, corporate roles are really boring," he says.

The truth is, much of what Mr Leddin has done as director of corporate services - essentially the person who manages the organisation's operations - stays in the background. He keeps the cogs of local government turning.

When pressed, he says complying with the new Local Government Act has been probably the most monumental task he's undertaken with 24 projects having to be completed by December 2021, some of them major initiatives like the Moyne community vision, all on top of the normal work of council.

"We ticked every one of those by the required date with very little outside assistance on top of people's normal workload. Massive," he says.

The other thing Mr Leddin says he can rest his hat on is the sound financial position Moyne Shire is in after such a tumultuous two years.

"That is something that is really positive and something we've worked hard to achieve.

"In terms of being able to build and deliver projects in the near future, we are coming off a really good base."

He says he is optimistic about the future of Moyne and the region, arguing there is plenty of young talent coming through the ranks and a renewed appreciation for the regional lifestyle coming out of COVID.

"I think we're in pretty good hands."

Mr Leddin also called out to talented young people, saying they could do worse than consider a career in local government.

"Look at me, I started out as a little old accountant and ended up as a director. I even sat in the big chair at times as acting CEO," he says.

For now, though it's "time for a rest".

"We've got a caravan ordered. I don't know when it will get here, but if it gets here we will lug that around for a while and see a bit of the countryside," he says.

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