Yass Valley Council Appoints New CEO

Published on 11 March 2025

Yass Valley Council is pleased to announce the appointment of highly experienced and qualified local government leader Ms Gayleen Burley as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ms Burley brings a wealth of experience in budget management, team leadership and service delivery to rural and regional communities through her work across northern NSW local government.

Jasmin Jones, Mayor of Yass Valley, said:

“On behalf of all the Yass Valley Councillors, I am delighted to announce our unanimous decision to appoint Ms Gayleen Burley as our new CEO. We were impressed by Ms Burley's commercial acumen, business management skills, and strong background in planning and asset management, which we believe are the perfect fit for Council's current challenges.”

Ms Burley most recently served as Director of Place and Growth at Glen Innes-Severn Council, New England. Before that, she held senior local government positions at Kempsey Shire and Port Macquarie-Hastings, where she managed large portfolios of community assets and council personnel, including Port Macquarie Airport, saleyards, caravan parks, and sporting and cultural centres.

Councillors were particularly impressed with her keen appreciation of Yass Valley’s natural, rural, and built heritage, as well as her understanding of the importance of supporting Yass Valley’s existing agricultural and tourism businesses while fostering new economic opportunities.

Ms Burley said:

“I am delighted to be joining Yass Valley Council as Chief Executive Officer and working with the Mayor and Councillors to realise their vision for the Yass Valley area. I look forward to working with Council staff to build on the high level of services provided to the community and ensuring that Council remains financially sustainable now and into the future.

I want to ensure that Council engages with and listens to the community, so that the services we provide are efficient, reliable, and relevant to the needs of our growing population. This is an exciting time for Yass Valley, and I look forward to the challenges, improvements, and opportunities ahead to help shape an already great place to live, work and visit, into an even better one.”

Mayor Jones continued:

“We are thrilled that Ms Burley and her family will be moving to Yass Valley, and I know our residents will extend a warm welcome as she settles into her new role.”

With the recruitment process complete, Councillors took the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the contribution of Ms Julie Costa, Yass Valley Council’s Planning & Environment Director, who has been acting as CEO since late November.

"Ms Costa stepped up in challenging circumstances and has demonstrated strong leadership skills and unwavering commitment to our community and council staff. Council is enormously grateful to Ms Costa for her professionalism and fortitude in steering Council to a much stronger position going forward”, said Mayor Jones.

Ms Costa will continue as Acting CEO until Ms Burley commences in the role in mid-April, for a contract term of five years.