By Parker McKenzie
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child has been re-elected as Mayor of Yarra Ranges Council after a council meeting on Tuesday 8 November, with Cr Sophie Todarov serving as his Deputy Mayor.
Mayor Child said it was an honour to serve his fourth term after being re-elected unanimously by his fellow councillors.
“I’m proud to be given the role again with unanimous support from the counsellors, I think what that reflects is that we’ve got a strong council that works together collaboratively,” he said.
“It put us in a great space to push forward with our council plan which we’ve put a lot of work into and will create benefit to the community.”
Mayor Child was first elected to Yarra Ranges Council in 2012, serving as mayor for the first time from 2012 to 2013. Previously he was elected to the now-defunct Shire of Upper Yarra in 1982 and was shire president in 1985.
He said Yarra Ranges Council has achieved significant accomplishments since he first joined a decade ago.
“We had the introduction of rate capping, we’ve managed through that and it shows you what we can do and we’ve done some magnificent things on the ground,” he said.
“The rivers and ridges project, the mountain bike destination and the Yarra Valley trail are significant achievements that are progressing into the future.”
Mayor Child said once the projects are delivered, council is “looking at an annual return of $48 million.”
“That’s a tremendous boost to business, but also gives jobs to local people,” he said.
“Those visitations that come into the Yarra Ranges because we are the lungs of Melbourne, the largest green wedge and I believe our future is tourism.”
Cr Todorvov was elected as deputy mayor and is serving in the role for the first time.
Deputy Mayor Todorov said in a statement she looked forward to working even more closely with the community and taking on the challenges that lay ahead.
“Thank you everyone and thank you for my nomination …it means so much,” Cr Todorov said.
“I look forward to having a more visible presence across the municipality and collaborating with our traditional owners and custodians of Yarra Ranges, our residents and also our State and Federal Government representative to ensure we do make the best decision and what’s in the best interests of our community.”
