Brian Ingram was elected Mayor of Hilltops 8 – 3, defeating former Deputy Mayor Alison Foreman for the top job. Tony Flanery was elected Deputy Mayor defeating second term Councillor Mary Dodd 7 – 4. They will lead the Hilltops Council for the next two years.
Jo Mackay and Neil Langford were voted on to Goldenfields Water County Council with Matthew Stadtmiller not receiving enough votes to return to the role after 8 years.
Mayor Ingram said he brings over ten years of experience to the role, including a Mayoral role he held when it was Young Shire Council in 2015.
“When the administration was over, I was elected the first Mayor of Hilltops Council which I held from 2017 to 2021. This is my third stint in the chair,” he said.
“I’ve learned to have greater patience and realise the clock turns really slow in local government and you need to be patient and determined to achieve the things you want to bring to your community.

“On top of the pile is always to endeavour to improve our financial sustainability which is something that is never ending and continues to go on and get difficult.
“I’m a very localised Mayor of local government and I believe in the roads, rates and rubbish and we need to look after the things that matter to our community the most and that is mostly the roads, rates and rubbish and I hope to lift the level of pride and appearance in our communities and our towns and have the community more involved.
“The community spoke pretty heavily in the lead-up to the polls saying they felt they were left out sometimes and not consulted or kept informed, so hopefully we can improve on that as well.”
Ingram said that he would like to focus on a couple of things in his role.
“The financial sustainability and achieving those outcomes that are set out in the delivery program and having routine maintenance kept up. I mean that with our parks, our gardens, our roads, our cemeteries and make sure all those things are taken care of and that the rotation they are in is sufficient.
“The community and the Chamber spoke and I feel very honoured that it has happened that way and I’m very appreciative of it. It puts a large responsibility on my shoulders which I am aware of and I knew if I happened to be elected Mayor that there’s responsibilities as I have been there before that come with it and especially now the last term of Council was pretty divisive so hopefully we can create an atmosphere and a Council that is cohesive. While we won’t always agree with each other, it’s how we disagree that is important and we need to remember that we are there to achieve great outcomes for our communities.
“I moved here in January 2000 and it’s the best thing that ever happened to our family. It’s a great area and if you want anything it’s here, you don’t have to go anywhere, but if you wish to go somewhere we are in the centre of the hub. Orange one way, Wagga the other way, Canberra the other way and four hours and you are in the centre of Sydney. If you wish to go somewhere to see something it’s not very far. If you would just like to stay at home you can just about get anything or any service you need right on your doorstep.”
We will see what the new Hilltops Council has in store for us as time goes on.