Meeting Procedures FAQ
The Local Government Act 1993 establishes and names the council responsible for each municipal area. Schedule 4 of the Act provides a framework of standard procedures for conducting the meetings of a council and also of council committees appointed by the council. The Act is currently under review with changes expected to the Meeting Procedures Regulations in Schedule 4. Until such time as the draft Local Government Amendment Bill 2004 becomes law, the information contained in this document remains correct. In addition, a council may make a by-law to provide for any supplementary procedures or to detail the conduct of proceedings at those meetings. As an example, the by-law may provide for Public Question Time at a council meeting.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
1. When are council meetings held?
Ordinary Meetings Notice of ordinary meetings must be given to councillors at least four days but not more than 14 days before the meeting. A notice of the meeting is also published in a daily newspaper circulating in the municipal area at least four days but not more than 14 days before the meeting. Note: Weekends and public holidays are included in the number of days in the notice provisions. Ordinary meetings of the Kingborough Council are usually held at 7.30 pm on the 4th Monday of each month at the Civic Centre. Special Meetings 2. How do I know what council will be discussing? Back to FAQ List The General Manager prepares an agenda listing any matter to be discussed at the council meeting. The agenda will be made publicly available. Any documents relating to a closed meeting may be excluded from the public agenda at the General Manager's discretion. See Q5. "What is a closed council meeting?" for details. Any excluded documents are exempt from Freedom of Information Act 1991 provisions. The first substantive item of business of any ordinary meeting of the council or council committee is to be the confirmation of the minutes of any previous meeting of that council, whether ordinary or special. Discussion of any matter referred to in the minutes submitted for confirmation is not permitted but the accuracy of the minutes as a record of the meeting to which they relate may be questioned. The order of business for any ordinary meeting is to be in accordance with the agenda but the meeting may resolve to alter that order. The business of a special meeting of the council is to be conducted in the order in which it is set out in the notice of that meeting. Copies of the agendas are available on the council's website. 3. Can I get access to the agenda before the meeting? Back to FAQ List Copies of the agenda are to be made available at the council's public office:
Copies of an extract of the agenda or minutes of a previous meeting, other than an extract relating to a closed meeting, are available for a prescribed fee of $2 plus $0.20 per page. Any documents relating to a closed meeting are exempt from Freedom of Information Act 1991 provisions. See Q5. "What is a closed council meeting?" for details. Copies of the agendas are available on the council's website. 4. Can I attend the meetings?
Back to FAQ List A decision to close a meeting to the public can only be made with the voted support of more than half of all elected councillors, whether or not they are present at the meeting. In the case of a council committee the vote to close the meeting can be made by simple majority of the councillors present. See Q5. "What is a closed council meeting?" for details. The chairperson of a meeting may remove the public or exclude any person from a closed meeting to ensure the orderly conduct of council business. 5. What is a closed meeting?
Back to FAQ List
The chairperson of a meeting may remove the public or exclude any person from a closed meeting to ensure the orderly conduct of council business. Documents relating to agenda items dealt with in a closed meeting may be excluded from the public agenda. Minutes of closed meetings will only include the fact that the matter was discussed but no details of the nature of the discussions will be recorded in the minutes, unless the Council or the Council committee determines otherwise. Any documents or minutes relating to a closed meeting are exempt from Freedom of Information Act 1991 provisions. 6. Can I speak at a council meeting? Back to the FAQ List The Local Government Act 1993 does not provide for members of the public to speak at a council or council committee meeting. However, some councils give this opportunity to the public in a Meeting Procedures By-law that allows Public Question Time at meetings. If you wish an issue to be raised at a council meeting, you should first contact one or more of your local councillors and discuss your issue with them. One function of councillors is to facilitate communication between the council and the community. Your council's website or your council's public office will have the councillors' contact details. The chairperson of a meeting, usually the Mayor, may respond to questions for which prior notice in writing has been given. If a councillor raises a question without giving prior notice, the chairperson may choose to address the answer if it is readily available or known. If this is not the case, the chairperson may request that the question be put in writing and dealt with separately from the meeting. The chairperson, acting on behalf of the Council, may also invite any member of the public present at a meeting to ask questions. The same considerations apply as for a question without notice raised by a councillor. A council or council committee may agree to a request from a delegation of persons to speak at a meeting; or it may invite a delegation of persons to attend and address a meeting. A period of time to address the meeting will normally be fixed by agreement. A member of the public, being a resident or ratepayer within the municipal area, may, by 10:00 a.m. on the day six days before the next meeting, give written notice to the general manager of a question that relates directly to the affairs of the council to be asked at the meeting. The chairperson or general manager will give a prepared response to the meeting. No further discussion or debate will be permitted on the matter. A member of the public is entitled to submit no more than two questions to be dealt with at any meeting. Any additional questions will be dealt with as correspondence by the general manager. See topics numbered 7 through 9 below for related information. 7. How do I get councillors to bring a topic up? Back to FAQ List The functions of councillors are:
Councillors are to act in the best interests of the community when carrying out their functions. A councillor may, by 10:00 a.m. on the day six days before the next meeting, give written notice to the general manager of a question to be asked at that meeting. A reply to the question on notice need not be given if the councillor who gave the notice is not present at the meeting. A councillor may move a motion for taking action or initiating a subject to be included on the agenda of a subsequent ordinary meeting. The chairperson may require a councillor intending to move a motion during a meeting to provide a copy of the motion in writing. Written notice must be given by 10:00 a.m. on the day six days before the meeting. If the meeting is of the opinion that a notice of motion notified in its agenda contains an unbecoming expression, it may resolve that the notice not be dealt with. In which case, the notice which is resolved not to be dealt with lapses. A councillor may ask a question of the chairperson, or through the chairperson, of another councillor or of the general manager or, where appropriate, an employee of the council. In putting a question, the councillor may not offer any argument or opinion, nor make any inferences or imputations, except so far as are necessary to explain the question. If the subject of the question is not related to the subject under discussion, the chairperson may require the councillor to submit the question in writing, or to give written notice of the question to the general manager by 10:00 a.m. on the day six days before the next meeting. A councillor is under no obligation to answer a question without notice. 8. How do I get a petition presented? Back to the FAQ List Petitions may be presented to the Council in relation to three subject matters:
Issues of significant interest
Electors may petition the council to have a matter treated as an issue of significant interest to the community. Petitions for an issue to be treated as one of significant interest may instigate a public meeting or elector poll. A petition must comply with the following requirements:
A petition is not to be made in relation to rates and charges if the Council has already determined the rates and charges applicable for the financial year. Petitions checked for compliance by the General Manager are then tabled as soon as practicable at an ordinary meeting of the council and are then taken to be accepted by the council. The council must hold a public meeting to discuss the issue once council has accepted a petition relating to an issue of significant interest to the community. Alternatively, the council may decide to hold a public meeting to discuss any issue as determined by the council. Notice of the public meeting must be publicly displayed and published on at least three occasions in a daily newspaper circulating in the municipal area. The council must invite the public to make written submissions on the issue of significant interest to the community. These submissions are to be lodged with the council within 21 days of the first publication of the notice. Any submission received is to be summarised and copies of that summary made available to those attending the public meeting. The council may be required, in certain circumstances if a petition has been lodged, to hold an elector poll. The matter that is the subject of an elector poll is decided by a simple majority of the votes cast. It should be noted, however, that the result of an elector poll is not binding on the council. A council may decide to hold an elector poll on any issue and conduct the poll in any manner as determined by council. The General Manager determines whether or not the petition complies with the formal requirements. If it does not, the General Manager must inform one of the named proposers of the petition and the council, at its next meeting, of the reasons for the petition's non-compliance. Separate rates The separate rate may be made:
Ratepayers affected by the intention of the Council to make a separate rate may present a petition in the prescribed form to the Council within 30 days of the notice published in the local newspaper. If at least 100 affected ratepayers or at least 10% of affected ratepayers, whichever is the lesser, present a petition the council must arrange a public meeting to discuss the issues. General matters A councillor may present a general matters petition to a meeting of the council. The person named as a proposer of a petition must ensure that the petition contains:
A petition is to be addressed to the Mayor and Councillors of the Kingborough Council and shall, in the opening paragraph state precisely what the purpose of the petition is. If the petitioners wish to state the reasons for the petition, this is to be done in succeeding and separate paragraphs. The names and addresses of the petitioners are to be printed on the petition and each person shall sign opposite the appropriate name and address. The name and postal address of the person to whom notices concerning the petition shall be addressed is to be printed at the foot of the petition. A petition is to bear at least six signatories who are electors of the Kingborough municipal area as defined by the Local Government Act 1993. The wording of the petition shall be temperate, respectful and factual. The Local Government Act defines an "elector" as:
The general manager is to ensure that the petition complies with the Council's Meeting Procedure By-law and Local Government Act 1993. Every petition, which complies with the by-law and Act, is to be presented to the meeting by the general manager. If the petition does not comply, it is to be treated as correspondence by the general manager. Upon presentation, the general manager shall read the paragraph setting out the purpose of the petition. Unless that meeting by more than half of the number of councillors to be elected to a council, whether or not present at the meeting otherwise determines, a petition presented to the meeting will not be dealt with, other than to be received, and if appropriate, referred to a council committee. Your local councillor may be able to assist you in preparing and presenting a petition. Visit the council's website or telephone the council to obtain the councillors' contact details. 9. How do I get input into the decision making process? Back to FAQ List The councillors are your representatives at ordinary and special meetings of the council. Each councillor has one vote at a meeting. A question arising at a meeting is determined by a simple majority of votes. A ratepayer may write to the Mayor or any councillor expressing their views and asking that a question be put to the next council meeting. They may also put their views verbally to an alderman. Councils will advertise the details of public meetings on any issue of special interest to which the general public is invited. A council can also invite the public to attend community consultations on various submissions or surveys. In these ways every member of the community can actively participate through a consultative process in the workings of their local council. |
Kingborough Council: Civic Centre, Locked Bag 1, Channel Hwy, Kingston, Tasmania 7050
Phone (03) 6211 8200 | Fax (03) 6211 8211 | Email: kc@kingborough.tas.gov.au
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