By JESSE GRAHAM
MURRINDINDI’S mayor has been re-elected unanimously, with Margaret Rae beginning her third consecutive year as mayor.
On Wednesday 28 October, Cr Rae was re-elected as mayor unanimously by her peers, with councillor John Kennedy re-elected as deputy mayor.
Cr Rae said she was “very appreciative of the confidence the council has placed in me”, in taking the mayor’s chair for another year – her third year as mayor in her four years on council.
She said one of the biggest issues facing the council in the coming year would be the budget strategy, in the face of the coming rate-cap for all councils.
“We have been working very hard for the last couple of years to define our budget strategy going forward, and we have a good concept and a good strategic resource plan in place,” Cr Rae said.
“It clearly doesn’t fit with the rate-capping model coming in.”
Cr Rae said the council was still unclear about what form the cap would take – whether the cap would be different for all council, for example – but said it would avoid cutting services where possible.
“What we don’t want to have to do is cut services to our community, and that is something we’ll be trying to avoid,” she said.
As for her coming year in the mayor’s chair, Cr Rae said her focus was on “continued improvement”, as well as exploring sharing services with other councils.
“And stability is the answer,” she said.
“I think if you can have clear, accountable messages and you stay true to your community … I think the community feels much more confident with what’s going on, even if it takes a little longer than we all might hope.
“We have a shared vision of maintaining and increasing the understanding of the community, and the level of trust, I think, it’s improved enormously.”
Cr Rae said the best part of the top job was getting to meet more community members, though a pitfall was the “sheer volume of work” that comes with it.
“A lot of the reward and enjoyment comes in many ways, through the interaction with the community, and it’s often the really small things, because that adds value, I think, to the whole of the community – everything from being involved in local celebrations, to having a cup of tea with local groups, such as our CWA,” she said.
When asked whether she will run for re-election in council next year, Cr Rae said she had yet to make up her mind.
“I’ll get through the next few months, and then I’ll think about it,” she said.
