NEWLY-elected mayor Heather Marcus has vowed to join forces with the Werribee Police to tackle domestic violence crippling the municipality.

Cr Marcus declared the council could not stand idle as members of the community feared for their lives.

She was elected unopposed for her first mayoral term with Cr Kim McAliney voted deputy at a statutory meeting last week.

Cr Marcus was deputy in 2006/07 and 2008/09 and is the fourth female in the council’s history to wear the mayoral robes.

The civic leadership continues as her great grandfather and great uncle were shire presidents.

She was elected to the Iramoo Ward in 2005.

Her intensions came as the latest Victoria Police statistics show violent assaults increased by a staggering 55 per cent in Wyndham.

Cr Marcus said the council would develop new strategies to boost police resources.

Meetings are set to take place with Inspector Bill Weatherly and Region 2 Assistant Commissioner Sandra Nicholson in coming weeks.

“If we can’t have more police then we want to work with them to maximise the resources we do have available,” she said.

“There should not be any violence within the home, it’s totally unacceptable.”

The burgeoning municipality has some of the highest family violence rates in the state.

There were 744 incidents, with 209 resulting in applications for intervention orders in the last financial year.

“We want to make sure that people feel safe to go out at night, they can walk down the street go to dinner and have no fear of being attacked,” Cr Marcus said.

A Wyndham resident for 40 years Cr Marcus said she was committed to working hard to represent the community.

“We are facing enormous challenges in the areas of service delivery and infrastructure provision,” she said.

Cr Marcus said the council would still focus on planning for the future to keep up with demand.

“We will continue to improve road infrastructure and vital community facilities and providing adequate access to sports fields will be a council priority,” she said.

She said water security was also high on the council agenda as talks with key stakeholders would take place shortly.

“Access to water is also particularly important to council’s strategy to improve city presentation throughout Wyndham,” she said.

“Instilling community pride and attracting visitors to the municipality through improved amenity is a long-term objective of this council.”