Chief retires after fixing up City

When outgoing City of Albany chief executive Graham Foster arrived at his new posting in late 2012, he came to an organisation he described as a "basket case".

Mr Foster walked into the City amid a legal battle with former chief Faileen James, who had launched Supreme Court action against the City, some councillors and staff.

The former City of Nedlands chief was employed on a six-month contract after recruiting for the role left vacant by Ms James failed, but later took up a longer contract.

Looking back, Mr Foster said his first challenge was to remind councillors of what their role was.

"Some of our councillors went through hell and I don't think people gave them enough credit or respect for the time that they went through," he said.

"It is always a challenge, especially for new Councillors, to get their feet under the desk and properly understand their roles, but that is part of the CEO's role to bring about that understanding."

Next, Mr Foster said the City had to work to restore confidence within the community.

"One of the goals we wanted to achieve was to rebuild confidence in the City and the council," he said.

"I think to a large extent that has happened.

"There are still prophets of doom out there, but I think largely the community has embraced a new City - one that has successfully carried out a number of events and one that has been able to achieve things probably outside of expectations."

Results of a community perception survey released this year showed 93 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with the city as a place to live, and 73 per cent were satisfied with the City as a governing organisation.

When asked whether he considered himself the City's saviour, Mr Foster said after a "disastrous" period, it would have been hard to do any worse.

"I feel a bit like the lone ranger, coming into town, fixing things and then moving on," he said.

"The councils I have been at - Fremantle was very highly regarded - but apart from that, the other councils were generally regarded as basket cases.

"Probably it was easy because a number of CEOs probably wouldn't apply for them, but it's that challenge of fixing the place and it's been good.

"You get places that are in such a situation that if you do a bad job nobody will blame you, and if you do a reasonable job, then you're some kind of hero."

Mr Foster said once he was able to "clear the decks" of lingering issues, the City was able to move forward.

"In Albany's situation … there were things that were hanging around and annoying councillors … I thought 'just deal with them, get them done, and then you can start moving forward'," he said.

"The place was traumatised.

"I can remember the first meeting I had, I said 'I want you to make mistakes' and I can still see the look on people's faces.

"I just said 'don't make the same mistake twice'.

"We have some wonderful innovative people here - give them freedom, let them run."

That innovative staff body was able to carry out major initiatives and events in the past two years, including hosting the Clipper Round the World Race in 2013, the annual Taste Great Southern and the Anzac Albany commemoration last year - all highlights for Mr Foster.

"People are tempted to ignore some of those things," he said.

"I think the way we engage with the community now has improved a hell of a lot, and showing the preparedness to listen has expanded a lot, rather than dictating."

Mr Foster said despite the naysayers leading up to the event, it was fantastic to see Anzac Albany as such a success.

"We turned the sod on the National Anzac Centre on November 11, 2013 - People were saying 'typical Albany, you'll never finish it and it won't be done in time'," he said.

"No credit to me, but the people who were behind it did an outstanding job.

"Council, too, recognised that basically they had to get it out of the way, and all credit to them, because they didn't interfere with the experts' advice."

Mr Foster will retire after 40 years in the local government sector after a handover with new chief executive Andrew Sharpe.

He plans to spend time overseas before returning to Albany to live at his home in Goode Beach.