If last week was as significant as it was traumatic to Ballarat, the week to come could prove even more crucial.
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The Ombudsman's report, the sacking and and the subsequent chaos it has thrown the council into could not have come at a worse time.
Right when the emergence form the coronavirus crisis most demands energy and cohesion, it has left the key local body without administrative leadership and double guessing itself.
So next week may prove less spectacular but getting it right will be even more vital for the city's future.
Councillors will take the first urgent steps towards finding an interim CEO to lead the thousand odd employees of local government.
But this appointment can be no place filler to slip into the easy acquiescence of business as usual.
What the Ombudsman highlighted, even though it targeted two specific leaders, were cultural issues where sub-optimal practices became the norm.
So the role has some awful but critical priorities before it has even begun.
And as Ballarat's reputational damage was one of the first casualties in all this, all eyes will be upon how we proceed form here.