Yarriambiack Shire Council has re-elected Graeme Massey as its mayor for the next 12 months.
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Councillors voted for Cr Massey's reappointment at a statutory meeting on Wednesday morning.
Cr Andrew McLean also nominated for the position, having previously served in the role before he lost in his seat in the 2016 council elections.
Cr McLean had the support of just one other councillor, leaving the majority of votes to fall in favour of the incumbent.
Cr Massey said he was thankful for his fellow councillors' continued support.
"Thanks so much councillors for having continued faith in me. I hope I can carry out the wishes of council to the best of our abilities," he said.
"Thank you Andrew, for putting up a nomination as a candidate. It's democracy in action, and I look forward to welcoming you back to council. His experience will be valuable for the rest of us."
Yarriambiack Shire Council chief executive Jessie Holmes congratulated Cr Massey on his re-appointment.
"Congratulations, I look forward to working with you through the next 12 months. We have the establishment of the council vision plan and the remaining major strategic implementations for council from the Local Government Act. So I'm looking forward to a very busy 12 months," she said.
Cr Massey said Council would work to tackle challenges facing its communities, born from both the COVID-19 pandemic and the influx of people moving to regional Victoria.
"There are challenges facing us, the first one of which is finances, which I need not go into. We are also facing in rural councils, with an ageing population, an accommodation crisis," he said.
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"It's no secret to anyone that (there is) a shortage, particularly community housing and particularly housing to attract people to positions of responsibility. Many organisations tell us it is desperately needed.
"Council will be working with other community groups to try and press this to take place in the next few years."
Cr Kylie Zanker was unanimously voted in as deputy mayor, after the incumbent Shane Roberts failed to reclaim his seat in last month's council elections.
"I'm really looking forward to positively projecting our shire forward and I believe that opportunities are vast," she said.
"I would also like to thank you, Cr Massey, for the positivity you have brought to Council in the past. You addressed some of the challenges that we have had and not once did we shy away those."
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