Meetings
Council Meetings
The public are welcome to attend all Council meetings. A schedule of meeting dates is provided here.
Council agendas are available from the Council office or Council's Website before the meeting and a copy is provided at the Meeting for public viewing. Council Agendas and Minutes are available below:
Meeting Procedures
Meetings are conducted in accordance with legislation. The opinion of the meeting must be expressed in the form of a resolution which is decided by a majority of votes of the members present at the meeting. The Council cannot make a decision, or form an opinion, unless it is done by resolution. For persons interested in knowing more about Council meeting procedures please click here.
Council Committees
Council has established a number of Committees which are open to the public. They provide advice and information to Council. Click here for more details on Council Committees and meeting dates.
Committee Agendas and Minutes are available here.
Public Participation
There are several ways that members of the public can make their views known at Council meetings:
- Questions from the Gallery
Council has allocated a time for the public to ask questions at ordinary meetings of Council. Questions may be asked by members of the Gallery regarding matters of Council business.
Members of the Gallery may ask up to two questions and at the discretion of the Mayor, one follow up question to each of the main questions. These questions must be in writing and supplied to the minute secretary prior to the conclusion of the meeting.
If a response cannot be provided at the meeting then a written reply will be sent to the proposer of the question prior to the next meeting. The written request should therefore contain the name and address details of the person submitting the question. For further information on meeting procedures click here.
- Petitions
Petitions allow the community to bring matters of concern to the Council's attention. Council can be petitioned for any matter that comes under its jurisdiction.
Council considers a document to be a petition when it:
- Is legibly written or typed or printed; and
- Clearly set out the request or submission of the petitioners; and
- Is addressed to the Council and delivered to the principal office of the Council.
The petition should include, for each person who has signed the petition, their name, address and normal signature. The action requested of Council must be re-stated on the top of each page of the petition.
The following link provides an example of a Petition Form
(106 kb).
- Deputations
A deputation allows a person to appear before a Council meeting in order to address or make a presentation to the Council on an issue. A person wishing to make a deputation must seek the permission of the Mayor in writing.
Deputations are limited to a maximum of three per meeting and each deputation is allowed a maximum of 10 minutes to make their presentation.
- Presentations
Presentations are an opportunity for an organisation, Council officer(s) or member of the public to provide the Council with information relevant to a matter currently under consideration. Presentations usually relate to a Council report. The duration is up to 10 minutes and generally limited to one presentation per meeting.
