CR John Menegazzo has used his last council meeting to hit back at opponents of the council and to warn voters to choose new councillors carefully.
The former mayor retired on Monday night after serving Iramoo ward for four years.
In his farewell speech, he urged residents to analyse the 46 election candidates and vote for people with integrity and credibility.
“What this community needs is elected representatives of the highest integrity and credibility with all the necessary skills, experience and level of commitment to be able to make a valuable and effective contribution.
“Just as importantly, we need people who will think objectively and put the best interests of the community, and not politics, at the forefront of their decision making.”
Cr Menegazzo warned that if elected, candidates would face a steep learning curve.
“It is no longer just roads, rates and rubbish. Whilst these are still important, most customer service issues related to these topics are best left to the organisation to deal with.”
Cr Menegazzo, who was mayor from December 2010 to last November, said he was proud of what this council had achieved.
“Contrary to many uninformed comments directed to this council by protagonists on social media in recent months, this team can be justifiably proud to have built a solid foundation that the next council team can build upon. I step down feeling very satisfied that I have achieved many of the goals that I set myself from the start.”
Cr Heather Marcus said Cr Menegazzo was “one of the best” councillors to have served Wyndham.
