Mayor of Dunedin Jules Radich says he is delighted to announce Chief Executive Sandy Graham has accepted the offer of a contract extension.

Councillors met yesterday and voted to offer Ms Graham a one-year extension, effective from when her existing contract expires on 12 October 2025. The agreement provides for her to continue in the role until 12 October 2026.

Mayor Radich says, “Ms Graham is a highly effective, skilled and very hard-working Chief Executive, and I’m delighted she will continue in the role.

“The Chief Executive’s job is incredibly demanding and we’re lucky to have someone of such calibre providing excellent service to the city and its ratepayers.”

Ms Graham says, “I’m really pleased with the outcome, which gives continuity to the organisation and means we can all now focus on the most important thing – delivering for our community.”

Ms Graham first joined the DCC in the mid-1980s, working as part of a roading crew. She re-joined the organisation in 2007 and has held the roles of Webmaster, General Manager Strategy and Governance and General Manager City Services since then.

Ms Graham was appointed Chief Executive in October 2020, initially for a five-year term, and oversees the organisation’s staff, an annual operational budget of more than $460 million a year, and capital spending plans worth more than $1.8 billion in the latest draft 9 year plan 2025-2034.

Highlights during her first five years in office include the Save Our Southern Hospital campaign, the DCC’s improved Civil Defence responsiveness – demonstrated by the October 2024 flood response – and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, engagement with mana whenua, and the successful process to obtain consent for the Smooth Hill landfill, among other successes.

“I’ve also been really pleased to see the rollout of our new kerbside collection service, the opening of Te Puna o Whakaehu, the completion of the George Street upgrade, and the improved delivery of our capital programme and investment in the renewal of our core infrastructure. Those are the things that count for our community.

“The last four and a half years have been incredibly challenging for everyone – including staff at the DCC – but I’m really proud of the results we’ve achieved so far, and I’m looking forward to continuing that good work.”

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