Geoff Helisma

Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) mayor, Ian Tiley, has told the valley’s people that the new council’s “stewardship will lead [the] reimagining … [of] the Clarence Valley and all that its future can be”.

At last Thursday’s January 20 extraordinary meeting, the newly elected council ‘reimagined’ how CVC will conduct its monthly council meeting cycle.

Mayor Tiley said he had “discussed the entire [proposed] process” with acting general manager Laura Black.

“After that discussion, she put up the first five points,” Cr Tiley said. “Then on Saturday [January 23] she added points six and seven, and then I added points eight to 12.

“I have to say, that the whole process is what I’ve been doing in recent years [at Armidale], and it’s [a] far more effective and helpful [way] for councillors to form their views on matters.”

Committee meetings, previously held on the Tuesday before the full CVC meeting, have been axed and replaced with a process that involves councillors receiving their ordinary meeting business papers on the Tuesday prior to the ordinary meeting.

Instead of separate committee meetings, councillors will participate in a workshop (information session) on the Friday prior to the ordinary meeting.

Councillors will also attend on-site inspections for DAs listed in the business paper on the Friday before the ordinary council meeting.

Mayor Tiley said he hoped there would be fewer questions asked at the ordinary council meeting as a result of the Friday information sessions and, consequently, shorter, more efficient ordinary meetings.

Regarding senior staff, he said if they could not answer a question at the workshop, then the question will be taken on notice and answered via email to the relevant councillor, or at the council meeting.

Councillors added several other points to the revised Model Code of Meeting Practice circulated by the Office of Local Government (OLG) in October 2021 – councillors supported the following resolution:

• Council note the draft Code of Meeting Practice provides the venue for the meetings of the Ordinary Council Meeting (OCM) rotates between Grafton and Maclean.
• The February 2022 ordinary council meeting be held in Maclean.
• The council meeting cycle be one ordinary council meeting held each month on the fourth Tuesday of the month, commencing at 2pm.
• Council place on public exhibition the draft Code of Meeting Practice for a period of 28 days, with submissions being received for up to 42 days.
• Prior to public exhibition, the draft Code of Meeting Practice be amended to reflect the resolution of council, to include the ordinary meeting cycle identified in this resolution of council.
• Presentations to council be invited from community groups and representatives of government on the morning of the ordinary meeting, with full details being made available on council’s website.
• A live-streamed public forum will be held between 11am and 1pm prior to the ordinary meeting, to hear deputations to items on the business paper before the council on that day, with full details being made available on council’s website.
• An information (workshop) session be provided to councillors on the Friday morning before the OCM.
• On-site inspections for DAs listed in the OCM business paper, be conducted following the information session on the Friday before the OCM.
• OCM business papers be provided to Councillors on the Tuesday prior to the OCM.
• Officer reports on DAs be also provided on the Tuesday [prior to the OCM] to persons who have expressed an interest in a DA, to enable time for those persons to prepare for on-site presentations.
• Part 8.1.1 of the Code of Meeting Practice be amended so that Notices of Motion [NOMS] are considered before officers’ reports [to council].