Vicki Jellie is back in the city's top job, filling the position left vacant after Richard Ziegeler stepped down as mayor after just five months.
It took just three minutes to re-elect Cr Jellie to see out the remainder of the mayoral term after Cr Debbie Arnott - who has been filling in as the acting mayor - nominated her for the role.
No vote was needed after no other councillors were nominated for the job.
Cr Jellie, who will hold the position until the next mayoral vote on October 14, put the focus on team work during her acceptance speech.
She said she was honoured to take up the position and thanked Cr Ziegeler for his service.
"I'd like to acknowledge Cr Ziegeler's engagement and ongoing commitment to the citizens of Warrnambool," Cr Jellie said.
"My aim is to provide leadership and pursuing the objectives of the council plan and other strategic priorities which will guide the growth of our city.
"As mayor I will work closely with my fellow councillors and respect the decisions made by our collective votes that determine council direction.
"It is team work that will be most use to our community.
"I will work with all councillors, encouraging their individual pursuits but also as team bringing each councillor's expertise to the table to achieve jointly."
Cr Jellie said she would work diligently on the council's advocacy priorities - something that was especially important in a year of both federal and state elections.
"Coming out of COVID we continue to have huge issues to deal with such as housing shortages, new job creation, tourism, infrastructure, asset renewal, environmental issues, social and community programs and economic development," she said.
Cr Jellie said the council needed to move strongly forward on projects that were now under way while also scoping for new infrastructure and services.
She said projects funded in the budget must be justified and in line with the council plan.
"We can have the best strategic plan in the world but this strategic vision can only be realised through effective communication and collaboration both internally and externally," she said.
She said there was a need to look at policies and procedures across the entire council and ask more questions, while supporting a positive culture for all staff who worked there.
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Katrina Lovell
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
Katrina Lovell is a senior journalist at The Standard who covers council news and human interest stories.
