MAYOR Geoff Kettle says he will continue to push Goulburn Mulwaree’s investment opportunities, as he embarks on his fifth term in the top job.
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Cr Kettle and Deputy Mayor Bob Kirk were re-elected unopposed at Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Councillors chose open voting, or a show of hands, to endorse the pair unanimously on both counts.
The Mayor thanked his colleagues for their support of him and Cr Kirk.
“I take my position as mayor very seriously,” he said.
“I elected to do this job fulltime since 2011 and I take my responsibilities very seriously.”
Cr Kettle said he’d continue, with councillors’ support, to ensure Goulburn Mulwaree was very much at the forefront of politicians’ minds and widely regarded as a good investment opportunity.
“I think that the restructure that our new general manager is embarking on will put this council in a very strong position, particularly with the government’s recently announced Fit for the Future reforms,” he said.
He was referring to the state government’s local government reform package, which offered incentives to councils wishing to amalgamate.
The Mayor congratulated Cr Kirk and his colleagues for working “cohesively” for Goulburn Mulwaree’s future.
Cr Kirk enters his sixth term as deputy mayor, a position he said he was “pleased and proud” to hold.
He told the Post he didn’t have any personal priorities, simply to support council’s direction.
“I’m not out to change the world but to do the best by the community and support the mayor,” he said.
He cited local government reform as a key challenge in the near future. As a “realist” he believed if Goulburn Mulwaree didn’t act, it would be thrust upon it.
“Amalgamation with Upper Lachlan Shire does seem logical,” he said.
“There is an alignment between Goulburn and Crookwell geographically… The difficulty is we will have to grab Crookwell councillors kicking and screaming to get agreement but that will be up to them to deal with.
“The State Government at the end of the day wants long-term sustainability for councils and benefits to flow to the community.”
Cr Kirk supported new general manager Warwick Bennett’s changes, which he said councillors had been requesting for a long time.
