John Glover said the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday marked the start of the district’s governance team getting down to business.
He named three-term Wanaka-Upper Clutha councillor Quentin Smith as deputy mayor — a role Cr Smith had under previous mayor Glyn Lewers — and appointed him as a member of the Otago Central Lakes regional deal negotiation committee.
Mr Glover said he would hold regular, informal get-togethers for councillors to ensure they remained "a good team that works together".
He had learned at a two-day "mayor school" in Wellington last week it was common practice at many councils around the country.
"We won’t be making decisions or workshopping a subject, but just checking in [with each other].
"It might be that we stay behind after a formal meeting, once everyone else has gone, and ask ‘how did that go? How did it feel? What do we need to change? Was everyone comfortable? Was the level of information in a report sufficient? Was there stuff you didn’t understand?’
"It’s only by having those conversations that we can get better at what we do."
He would also encourage councillors to express their opinions in mainstream and social media, including about topics on which they had voted in the minority.
"If they disagree with something, they’re perfectly entitled to say to the media or in public why they disagree.
"It shouldn’t be that you can’t say anything because it might be undermining the organisation."
The community expected councillors to have different views, he said.
"It would be great if we get everything through by consensus, but the reality is there’ll be things that are divisive."
Although they would be exposed to "hate and anger" on social media, that did not mean ignoring what some members of the community were saying through that outlet.
"We need to be cognisant of what’s in the comments.
"Somebody put it really well to me recently, which is ‘how do we hear the whispers among the noise?’."
The council’s first ordinary meeting will be held in Queenstown on November 27.
