It was great to head to Mayor School in Wellington this week with an extra spring in my step, after Mid Canterbury won rugby’s prestigious Meads Cup at the weekend.

The Hammers’ win over Thames Valley is good for local rugby, and for the district as a whole, and I was proud to be part of such a big crowd at the showgrounds united in cheering them on.

There was not the same fanfare at Mayor School, but I came away feeling I was part of another team, also facing some big challenges – like keeping rates affordable for our communities while delivering the services they want.

Mayor’s Induction is run by Local Government New Zealand and is affectionately referred to as Mayor School. New mayors like me, and returning mayors from all around New Zealand get together after the local elections for a two-day conference.

It is a chance to meet other mayors, form connections and prepare for the new triennium. Mayors work closely with their CEs and fellow councillors, but peer support is important too.

All the topics were aimed at helping us nail the role of mayor, from politics to governance, and from funding to building a new team.

Our new Ashburton council team spent time last week getting to know each other and our first induction session was all about what council does, why we do it and how we do it.

This week there’ll be another induction session, focusing on governance and decision-making, and things like meeting procedure. We’ll also be talking about the relationships we have with other agencies and groups, like iwi and Local Government NZ.

Our four new councillors will be attending a session for newly-elected councillors in Christchurch on Friday.

The inaugural council meeting will be held next Wednesday on 29 October and all elected members, including the Methven Community Board, will be officially sworn into office.

The first real business meeting of council will be on 5 November and we’ll all be ready to pack down a good scrum.