Mr Harding was chosen at a special meeting on Tuesday from a pool of 18 candidates for a two-year tenure.

He has acted in the role since August when former general manager Andrew Hopkins resigned.

The appointment has provided a degree of freedom for Mr Harding, after having spent the first seven months under the council amalgamation cloud.

“The next three months, I was able to get projects started that had been held up, but I wasn’t in a position to replace any senior staff because it should be up to the new general manager to put their own team together,” he said.

“The director of engineering and technical services has been vacant as well so we’ve had other people taking on those positions and it will be great to get those filled [so they can] just focus on their own job.”

The Molong resident was previously the council’s finance and corporate services director, a position he held for 22 years.

During that time, he raised two children, Angela and Jonathon with wife Gabriele, enjoying fishing and golf outside the office. 

“I think it’s the rural lifestyle, the small villages and the friendly people,” he said of his love for the area.

Prior to the Cabonne position, he served as the general manager at the smaller Wentworth Shire Council. 

He said the council’s $45 million budget for 2017-18 featured $2 million to revitalise the villages and the pipeline program delivering potable water to Cumnock and Yeoval would continue.