Mr Byrnes took over from Stephen Harding after his retirement two years into the role.

"Coming from a neighbouring council, I knew it had a good culture and I saw a lot of opportunity there," he said.

He had been at Parkes Shire Council for 10 years after 21 years as a police officer.

Two of his sons are at university, while the third attends Kinross Wolaroi School and his wife, Cath, was recently named Western NSW Local Health District Midwife of the Year.

Despite amalgamation being off the table since February 2017, Mr Byrnes said Cabonne Council had keenly felt the effects of the uncertainty.

"We lost a lot of staff and some staff have been doing a lot of work to subsidise that," he said.

"I think the staff weathered the storm well and they're keen to get on with moving forward and providing services and assets to the wider community - there's a lot of potential to be unlocked and it's in good financial shape."

Among the projects now in focus are the Cumnock's recreation area, the flood levee at Eugowra and roadworks along Banjo Paterson Way.

Amalgamating Orange, Cabonne and Blayney councils would have meant Lake Canobolas, located inside Cabonne's boundary but managed by Orange City Council, would have fallen under a single entity.

Asked about the lake and Mount Canobolas, which is also considered a feature of Orange but lies inside Cabonne's boundary, Mr Byrnes said he took a collaborative approach.

He said the economic and social benefits of expanding recreational activities such as mountain biking would have to be weighed against the environmental aspects.

"It has to be done through mindful community engagement or it's not going to work," he said.

He said the council also intended to work with Orange and Blayney on strategic land use, while ensuring "Cabonne will stay Cabonne".

"Cabonne is committed to its agriculturally-valuable land staying valuable agricultural land," he said.

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