FOR the past six years, the Liverpool Plains has been led by a familiar face sitting in the mayor's chair.
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However, from September councillor Andrew Hope will be stepping aside from the role and taking a back seat on the council.
"Our mayoral and deputy mayoral elections are slated to be held in September and I won't be contesting the mayor's role in September," Cr Hope told the Leader.
"I've been on the council for the past eight years, one of those as a councillor and six years as mayor.
"It's amazing how time flies."
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Cr Hope said his reasons for standing down were to spend more time with his family and to allow a fresh voice to lead the council.
"The last 12 to 18 months with the drought, the pandemic and the bushfires, it's been a tough gig," he said.
"You sort of get to the point where you realise you're not going to be as effective as you should be and I just need to take a little bit of a step back for a while.
"I think it is time to let someone else have a go at it."
Initially slated for September, Liverpool Plains like all councils across the state was set to host a council election.
However, the elections have been postponed to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I intended on retiring from the council in September, so when it was delayed another 12 months it threw a bit of a spanner in the works," Cr Hope said.
"I will be staying on with the council, but I won't be contesting the mayor or deputy mayor roles in September.
"It's been awesome serving the community and I'll be keen to continue doing it as best as I can, just not as mayor."
Cr Hope said he was most proud of the many infrastructure projects the council had got across the line during his stint as mayor.
"Securing the funding for the Quipolly water project, the new parks in Werris Creek and the new water pipeline for Willow Tree are right up there," he said.
"I've got a long list of things we have achieved as a well working team and you can't do it without the team.
"I've been really lucky to be surrounded by such a good team that works so well together and I'll be doing whatever I can to contribute to the community as a councillor going forward."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
