Hawkesbury City Council has appointed Shageer Mohammed as its new Chief Financial Officer, the third in the past five years.
Mr Mohammed will commence on 28 April 2026, bringing experience from senior finance roles across local government and the private sector, including positions with Glen Innes Severn Council, Pharmacy 4 Less and Forestry Corporation of NSW.
Council manages hundreds of millions in assets and expenditure. The Chief Financial Officer plays a central role is budget oversight, long-term financial planning, procurement governance and financial risk management.
With Hawkesbury being identified in NSW Government Audit report as among councils with low liquidity, meaning it does not have sufficient unrestricted cash to comfortably cover short-term expenses, the appointment has also reignited concerns about leadership stability in Council’s finance function.
One community advocate described it as:
“Too much churn in one of the most critical roles in Council.”
Business and community groups say the issue is not the capability of individuals, but the lack of sustained leadership.
“Financial oversight is not something you can reset every couple of years,” a local stakeholder said.
“Consistency matters, particularly in a council dealing with infrastructure backlogs, flood recovery costs and growing service demands.”
Hawkesbury has faced increasing financial pressure in recent years, balancing disaster recovery and resilience funding, infrastructure upgrades, population growth and cost-of-living impacts on ratepayers.
There appears to be no contingency plan should IPART reject Council’s proposed 40 per cent rate increase. If approved, this would follow a 30 per cent rise in 2018, meaning ratepayers would face a cumulative increase of around 70 per cent over the past decade, all while services have declined and staffing levels have grown by more than 50 per cent.”
Despite these concerns, there is cautious optimism that Mr Mohammed’s mix of public and private sector experience will bring a fresh approach to financial management.
“This is an opportunity to stabilise the finance function and rebuild confidence,” one business leader said.
“But the expectation is clear, the community wants to see continuity, transparency and strong financial discipline over the long term.”
The appointment of a new CFO, alongside the recent recruitment of a new Director of City Planning, points to a broader reset within Hawkesbury City Council’s executive ranks.
For many in the community, the message is simple: merit-based appointments are being welcomed but long-term stability and local accountability remain the real test.
