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Ian Maddison is Campaspe Shire’s new mayor.

Cr Maddison was elected to the role at a meeting in Echuca last night after being elected to council in last month’s local government election.

Western Ward councillor Greg Toll was named deputy mayor.

Each will fill the role for 12 months.

Cr Maddison said while he had inherited a ‘‘good ship in good shape’’, it was important to ‘‘take the ship out of the harbour’’.

‘‘The ship is safe when it is in the harbour, but that is not what a ship is built for. We have to use this magnificent ship out in the community,’’ he said.

‘‘There is no doubt there is a perception of a void between council and the community it serves... While it is impossible to accommodate everyone, our job as a council is to reduce the void.’’

Cr Maddison also spoke about the need to support the shire’s farmers.

‘‘These people have been shattered, battered from pillar to post, with drought, irrigation reform, flood and the Regional Rural Land Use Strategy,’’ he said.

‘‘After these wall-to-wall issues, farmers will have little confidence left to carry out their work, but we have to look out for their future, because they are the biggest contributors to our shire.’’

As councillors congratulated each other on being officially sworn in to office, they were also called on to vote on several items.

They agreed on an annual remuneration of $22,405 for councillors and $69,325 for the mayor.

Councillors were also assigned portfolios: planning, building and local laws (Adrian Weston), commercial (Carol Howell), environment and waste (Greg Toll), economic development and tourism (Paul Jarman), community places and programs (Robert Danieli), roads (Neil Pankhurst), community care (Emma Bradbury) and flood recovery and emergency management (Leigh Wilson).

Councillors will sit for their first official council meeting on Tuesday.