Mayoral Column 2012

Christmas is only one week away and while I hope you enjoy a well deserved break with family and friends, I urge you to be cautious on the road during the holiday season. For those who will be travelling long distances this Christmas, please remember to take regular breaks from behind the wheel and ensure that all passengers are wearing seatbelts.

Christmas is just around the corner and Burwood has dressed up for the occasion, creating a festive atmosphere for residents to enjoy this holiday season.

Summer is fast approaching and I am pleased to advise that Council is continuing to roll out its 2012-13 Capital Works program, to ensure the best infrastructure and facilities for our residents during the holiday season.

In order to tackle graffiti vandalism head on Burwood Council has partnered with Juvenile Justice, Burwood PCYC and Burwood Local Area Command to carry out the WipeOut Graffiti Hotspot Project.

As Mayor of Burwood and a father of four young children, I am passionate about ensuring that families, workers and visitors feel safe and secure in our community on a daily basis.

Since being re-elected as Mayor of Burwood, I went straight back to work to continue delivering a better community for residents, concentrating in particular on making our area a safe, clean and accessible place to live, work and visit.

I am extraordinarily grateful to the people of Burwood for choosing me to be their Mayor for the next four years at the recent local government elections. It was a clean campaign, and I congratulate everybody for a hard-fought race.

Burwood Council is committed to improving its services as part of its Burwood2030 Community Strategic Plan, undertaking a number of service reviews to provide residents and visitors with a cleaner, better Burwood.

As Mayor of Burwood, I am passionate about the services that local councils provide residents. Our other councillors and staff at Burwood Council, live, work and play in the area and we are in a unique position to make decisions for this community based on our own intimate knowledge of what locals want.

I am proud to say that Burwood Council is part of a growing trend that is changing the way local governments interact with residents. With Council set to invest more than $11.5m in projects in 2012/13, I am pleased to advise that we have rolled out a number of new consultations to make your opinion heard through online channels.

As we all move ahead into the 2012/13 financial year, residents in Burwood and our surrounding suburbs have quite a bit to be excited about with Council set to invest more than $11.5m in projects as part of a $30m commitment to capit al works and infrastructure over a period of four years.

Last Tuesday night at the latestBurwood Council meeting, I raised a number of Mayoral Minutes regarding parking in the Burwood area with a view to easing congestion, making local parking arrangements more accessible to residents and visitors.In the coming months, Burwood Council will investigate a number of solutions to assist the situation.