LONG-SERVING Tweed Shire councillor Phil Youngblutt will hang up his towel soon, with just a handful of meetings to attend before closing the curtains on his political career.*

A retired farmer and car salesman, who still produces roses on his Fernvale property, Cr Youngblutt said he was looking forward to signing off on what had been an enjoyable career in council.

"It's been a very good experience,” Cr Youngblutt, 81, said.

"I don't regret any of it really. But you have to face reality - I'm just too old to go for another four years and that's it.”

A former president of the Murwillumbah Chamber of Commerce - where he oversaw the growth of the chamber from 35 to 135 members - Cr Youngblutt was first elected to council in 2000 and served for 12 years (excluding the period of administration).

While standing as an independent for council, the outspoken councillor is a well known member of the National Party, having headed the Tweed branch for several years.

For him, the highlight of his time on council, which included a stint as deputy mayor in 2012, was helping to get the Tweed moving economically.

"I think that we absolutely started to get things done on the Tweed,” Cr Youngblutt said.

"When we went in there, there was Bob Brinsmead and Warren (Polglase) and co, there was nothing happening on the Tweed at all. Once it started, that was it.

"We got the Tweed up and going... before that we were just completely dormant.”

Cr Youngblutt said his best advice to any new prospective councillors was to understand how to work with council staff.

"You get to learn that you are part of an organisation, you have to work with the executive as a group: once you realise that then you start to get things done,” he said.

• UPDATE:

Last Thursday's meeting was due to be the last main meeting Cr Youngblutt would attend apart from a planning meeting on September 1.

However, due to the postponement of the election until October 29 following the death of a candidate, Cr Youngblutt will now have to attend the September 15 council meeting when a new mayor must be elected.

That mayor will be in the position for two weeks before the council once again goes into caretaker mode, when further meetings will be held on October 6 and October 27, just two days before a new council is elected.