Debbie Wisby might only be one voice, but the newly elected mayor of Glamorgan Spring Bay said she has a big vision for the region.
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Two weeks into her new role, the incumbent councilor said she was looking forward to working with residents, ratepayers and elected members.
“I am looking forward to having the opportunity to positively contribute to improving and strengthening our region,” she said.
“As an individual I am just one voice, however with the help of our residents, ratepayers and elected members, I believe that together we can achieve great outcomes for our region.”
Replacing outgoing mayor Michael Kent, Ms Wisby said she was motivated to run for the position because she believed there needed to be a stronger focus on core community needs such as roads and footpath infrastructure – especially given the number of older people in the community.
“One of the biggest challenges as I see it is that we are a long linear council area with a relatively small rate base that is spread over 150 kilometres in distance, making communication complex and infrastructure costly,” she said.
“Although tourism is an important and growing industry for our region, it has its own issues that also need to be overcome.”
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With fresh and familiar faces making up the newly elected council, Ms Wisby said she was confident members would work as a team.
“As an elected member we do not choose our team, the residents and ratepayers decide this,” she said.
“I am sure at times there will be differences and a diversity of views, however I am sure we will leverage our collective strengths and work together to become an effective team.”
Ms Wisby said she hoped to increase increase both community and business confidence in the council.
“At the end of my term as mayor, I would consider success to include communities that believe there has been noticeable improvement in core infrastructure that reflects fair and equitable distribution of the capital works program for the entire region,” she said.
“It is now up to us, the elected members, to deliver on each of our pre-election commitments for our region.”
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