Whilst it is a great honour to have been elected as council leader, I am under no illusions.
With the council hovering on the edge of a financial abyss, I am very aware that this great honour could well prove to be a poisoned chalice.
Notwithstanding this dark thought, I am determined to work with all councillors and the dedicated council staff to find a way out of our financial difficulties.
We all depend on the services of the council, and we simply cannot contemplate failure.
Our first challenge must be to convince national government that the continued reduction of local government funding, accompanied by ever-increasing responsibilities, is an unsustainable model.
I really would appreciate the help of all councillors in getting this message across to government.
We must also continue the prudent approach developed by the last administration, with every department looking to its own working practices and helping to identify savings.
The council’s greatest asset is its staff and I know that they will rise to this challenge.
I am keen to counter the claim by some people that our refusal to accept the proposal “there will be no compulsory redundancies” is proof that we are already planning swingeing cuts.
The threat of compulsory redundancies is a traumatic and stressful experience for all staff, as well as being an expensive strategy, and this council will do all in its power to avoid them.
However, it is sheer folly to rule them out completely when we have such a financial challenge to overcome.
I have never met a councillor anywhere who did not stand for election to do the very best for the people of that region.
There is no doubt in my mind that the same applies to all those elected in Moray earlier this month.
This particular group of councillors is facing a greater challenge than most, but I am confident that we can work together to find a satisfactory solution.
