By Callum Ludwig
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child has taken on further responsibility at Yarra Ranges Council stepping back into the Mayor’s chair.
Starting his fourth consecutive term as a councillor, it will be Cr Child’s third stint as Mayor of the council during this time, including back-to-back terms in recent years.
At the Tuesday 19 November Council meeting where the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor were announced, Cr Child said he wanted to thank his fellow councillors for their unanimous support in electing him for a fourth term as mayor.
“I’m extremely honoured and proud to once again be able to lead a council that will be passionate in their collaborative approach to represent their constituents but also to protect and enhance this amazing place that we call home, the Yarra Ranges,” he said.
“I wish to acknowledge Sophie Todorov for her exceptional role as mayor for the past 12 months, I also extend my sincere thanks to David Eastham as deputy mayor for the past 12 months.”
Cr Child was elected as a councillor for the first time in Yarra Ranges Council in 2012 and first served as mayor from 2012 to 2013 and most recently from 2021 to 2023.
Cr Child welcomed the new councillors to their positions and said he is sure they will have no regrets on the decisions they’ve made to represent the residents of Yarra Ranges.
“Together in the coming year we will be delivering more than 120 services to our community and delivering them with passion and a keen eye on how we are able to keep the costs down while we still while we’re still meeting the needs of more than 150,000 people, thousands of businesses and countless visitors,” he said.
“I’m proud to say that we’ll be able to do this while navigating the challenges of the past pandemic, whilst assisting and facilitating storm and flood recovery of our communities and while facing the dual impact of inflation and rate capping,”
Cr Child was nominated for mayor by new Melba Ward councillor Mitch Mazzarella and no other nominations were put forward at the Council meeting.
Cr Child said visitors to the Yarra Ranges region are expected to double to nine million in the next decade,
“We will be advocating for federal and state government to support vital services and projects that strengthen our communities, provide quality infrastructure and create local jobs for local people,” he said.
“That’s why we’re asking for the continued support for our Ridges and Rivers projects consisting of the Yarra Valley Trail, Ridgewalk and the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination, these projects on completion will deliver 500 jobs and some 80 million dollars per year into the local economy and that’s the boost our businesses need.
“We as the council will be shortly finalising the development of the 2025-2029 Council Plan and the longer-term Asset and Financial Plans, these plans outline the high-level priorities for council including how we manage our finances and assets and the goal of these plans is to advance Yarra Ranges towards the future outlined in the community vision.”
