General News
2 December, 2024
Ross settles into mayoral role
Telangatuk East wool grower Ian Ross has chaired his first monthly meeting as Horsham Rural City Council mayor.
Second-term councillor Ross was elected unopposed last week to take the new council forward for the next 12 months.
He was nominated for the position by Cr Angela Munn, who said: "I'd be very comfortable with any one of my six fellow councillors leading council for the next year, and that's a terrific thing to be able to say.
"However, I've supported Cr Ian Ross's mayoral nomination as I believe he's the person most experienced and therefore most suited to undertake this role at this time.
"Cr Ross has already walked along the path onto which we've just stepped and he's done so with honesty, integrity, diligence and wisdom."
Cr Cam McDonald seconded the motion.
Addressing Cr Ross across the council chamber, Cr McDonald said: "You are the model statesman and you are a thorough gentleman.
"We've all watched you in the last four years conduct yourself in a very professional manner.
"You've demonstrated restraint, and a lot of candour in your deliberations, and for that I applaud you."
Cr Ross was the only member of the previous council returned to office in the October local government election, polling 63.04 per cent of the primary vote in a three-way duel in Pine Lake ward.
During a statutory meeting that ran for exactly 30 minutes on Thursday afternoon, Cr Ross thanked his fellow councillors for showing confidence in him and paid tribute to his wife Kathy for providing the support that enabled him to serve their community.
"The role of being mayor is an honour, but the most overwhelming emotion that I have, though, is responsibility," Cr Ross said.
"It's a huge commitment getting my affairs in order at home so that I can fulfill that commitment well.
"Kath said 'Do not acknowledge me' but I'm going to, because... without that support I would not be able to do what I do in public life."
Cr Ross also thanked Kath Dumesny for spending five days serving as a scrutineer on his behalf during counting of last month's election votes.
"After participating in induction programs in recent weeks, I can honestly say that I'm very confident we're all here for the right reason," Cr Ross said in praise of his new peers.
"We bring a mix of experiences, and that mixture of experiences is what will make the diversity of a good team.
"I believe we will be a very effective and functional council."
Referring to recent indications of ratepayer dissatisfaction with council, he said: "We do have a big job to do... we've got some work to do to turn the ship around a little bit with our satisfaction surveys and we need to restore the community's trust.
"It's important that the whole municipality is covered in Horsham Rural City Council, and I think that's been perhaps one of our weaknesses in recent years – there's been a relative focus on the city itself."
Cr Ross added: "Because we're a regional city, we don't just have a responsibility to Horsham Rural City Council; we also have a responsibility to the wider regions of the outer-lying municipalities."
In a more lighthearted moment, on being congratulated by interim CEO Craig Niemann, he joked: "I never realised that this mayoral chain's so heavy."
Across Victoria, all council members are allocated an annual allowance, set by a state government tribunal, to help offset their costs in representing the community.
For his duties, Cr Ross will receive $109,114 and the six general councillors will receive $34,028 each.
Last week's meeting began with the swearing-in of all seven councillors-elect: Cr Ross, Cr Dean O'Loughlin (Green Park ward), Cr Todd Wilson (Horsham North), Cr Rebecca Sluggett (Kalimna), Cr McDonald (May Park), Cr Munn (Oatlands) and Cr Brian Klowss (Wyn Wyn).
It also included council voting to set its first mayoral term at 12 months rather than two years.
Council chose not to elect a deputy mayor for 2024–25.
The position left vacant would have cost council a base allowance of $54,558.