Independent Councillor Meredith Dennis OAM has been reappointed as Deputy Mayor of Tweed Shire, following a Deputy Mayoral election at an Extraordinary Meeting of Council in Murwillumbah this afternoon.
Cr Dennis, who is serving her first term as Councillor, nominated for the position unopposed.
She received unanimous support from six of her fellow Councillors, with Cr Warren Polglase an apology for the meeting. Cr James Owen attended the meeting remotely and supported Cr Dennis’ nomination.
Cr Dennis will continue to support Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry until the upcoming NSW Local Government election on 14 September 2024. Under a 2016 Tweed Shire Council resolution, the position of Deputy Mayor is appointed for a term of 12 months, while the Mayoral position is appointed for two years.
Cr Dennis thanked her fellow councillors for their continuing support.
“It has been a privilege to serve as Deputy Mayor over the past 12 months and I look forward to continuing to do so over the remainder of the Council term,” Cr Dennis said.
“It has been a busy 12 months over the past year as the Tweed continued its flood recovery but there is still much to achieve. I will continue to focus on working towards better outcomes for the homeless and disadvantaged in our community as well as for the environment and native wildlife, particularly our threatened koala population on the Tweed Coast.”
Cr Cherry, who was reappointed to her position unopposed in September to serve the remainder of the electoral term, congratulated Cr Dennis on her reappointment as Deputy.
“I would like to congratulate Cr Dennis on her reappointment as Deputy Mayor for the remainder of the Council term,” Cr Cherry said.
“Thank you so much for the stellar job you have done over the past 12 months and I look forward to working with you over the next nine months.”
The current elected Councillors are serving a reduced term of 2 years and 8 months as a result of the 2020 election being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the next election due in September 2024.
