Cr Ben Ramcharan re-elected Mayor of Nillumbik Shire Council

Published on 30 November 2023

Cr Ben Ramcharan has been re-elected the Mayor of Nillumbik Shire Council for 2023-24 and Cr Karen Egan has been elected Deputy Mayor.

Cr Ramcharan and Cr Egan were elected for a one-year term during a livestreamed Extraordinary Meeting of Council last night, Wednesday 29 November.

Cr Ramcharan was elected to the Shire’s Sugarloaf Ward in 2020. When first elected Mayor in 2022 at the age of 24, he was the youngest person to serve as Mayor of Nillumbik.

Cr Egan was first elected to Council in 2016 and this is the third time she has been elected Deputy Mayor with previous terms in 2016 and 2017. She has also served as Nillumbik Mayor twice, in 2018 and 2019.

Cr Ramcharan said it was an honour to lead the Council for a second term as Mayor.

“We’ve got a lot to do for this community and we have the responsibility to achieve that in the coming year. We are going to be a good team and we have a lot to look forward to,” Cr Ramcharan said.

Cr Egan thanked the Councillors for electing her for her third term as Deputy Mayor.

“Being a Councillor is not only about the bright, shiny things, the new buildings and projects. It’s about representing your community,” Cr Egan said.

The meeting also saw the appointment of Cr Peter Perkins as Chairperson for Planning Matters before the Planning and Consultation Committee while Cr Natalie Duffy was appointed Chairperson for Consultation Matters.

Councillors were also appointed as representatives to a range of internal advisory committees and external organisations.

This is the final year of the four-year term of Council, with local government elections to be held in October 2024.