After six years as President of the Association of Local Government Information Management (ALGIM), Billy Michels stepped down with an emotional speech at the Annual General Meeting, held at the 2022 Annual Conference in Christchurch last week. He is being replaced by Marion Dowd, CIO of Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Justin Bagust, CIO from Timaru District Council. Billy, CIO from Otorohanga District Council, joked he had to be replaced by two people, but it was the result of an equal vote from the rest of the board for Marion and Justin. 

Billy said “I have been proud to lead and represent ALGIM and I want to take this opportunity to thank the board, the ALGIM team and our members for supporting me over the past six years.  

I am sure that there are many wonderful things ahead for us and I am thrilled to be handing the reigns over to both Marion and Justin.  I have known them both for many years.  They are both widely recognised in the local government environment and they will continue to provide positive leadership for ALGIM.” 

Marion and Justin are looking forward to working together, agreeing their diverse skill set will be complementary. Having worked well together for the last eight years, they are excited for the future of ALGIM.