Mr Shanahan started work on Monday after Victor Szwed resigned as CEO earlier this month.

Mr Shanahan said the council's recent controversies would have no influence on his role.

"It will be business as usual. I have heard about some of the troubles, but everything seems to be going well now.

There are a lot of good people here," Mr Shanahan said.

He said he expected to remain in the job for up to five months.

"I just depends on how long it takes to recruit a new CEO and then how long it then takes before they actually get here and start."

The Local Government Act enables councils to appoint interim/acting CEOs for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Mayor Tim Hayes said: "This will enable council sufficient time to consider whether a permanent appointment to the position of CEO should be made prior to, or after, the election of a new council in late November 2008."

Hayes said Mr Shanahan had held senior positions in local and state governments over a period of 30 years.

"His local government experience has been in rural and metropolitan municipalities and has included appointments as CEO of Portland, Broadmeadows, Maribyrnong and Darebin," Cr Hayes said.

More recently he has filled the position of interim CEO with the shires of Glenelg (five months in 2007) and Corangamite (two months in 2008) and assisted those councils in the recruitment of permanent CEOs.

In 2005, Mr Shanahan earned a VLGA cultural diversity excellence award for his management of cultural diversity in the City of Darebin. The same year, he received a Premier's Award in multiculturalism for community harmony.

Mr Shanahan said he would stay in Daylesford during the week and return to his home in Essendon on weekends.