Council at its 24 August 2022 Council Meeting adopted its Governance Rules.
Update
The submission period has now closed. Thank you to those community members who participated. We will review the feedback and present to Council for adoption later this month.
Ever wondered what Council’s Governance Rules look like?
In line with
the Local Government Act 2020, Council is required to adopt a set of
Governance Rules. We’ve recently developed our draft Governance Rules 2022 and
now is your opportunity to provide feedback.
The draft Governance Rules are available in the Exhibition Documents section. Community members are invited to provide feedback on the draft. Submissions close at 12.00 noon on Sunday 7 August 2022.
The Local Government Act 2020, section 60 requires Council’s to adopt a set of Governance Rules that cover the following:
(a) the conduct of Council meetings
(b) the conduct of meetings of delegated committees
(c) the form and availability of meeting records
(d) the election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor
(e) the appointment of an Acting Mayor
(f) an election period policy in accordance with section 69
(g) the procedures for the disclosure of a conflict of interest by a Councillor or a member of a delegated committee under section 130
(h) the procedure for the disclosure of a conflict of interest by a Councillor under section 13
(i) the disclosure of a conflict of interest by a member of Council staff when providing information in respect of a matter within the meaning of section 126
(j) any other matters prescribed by the regulations
The draft Governance Rules 2022 are to replace Council’s Governance Rules 2020, which were adopted on 24 June 2020.
The introduction of virtual meetings and the opportunity to attend meetings virtually was born out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic and was enacted in legislation to ensure decision making was maintained.
In order for Council to use virtual and hybrid meeting format’s it must review its Governance Rules to incorporate the ability to attend remotely. This must be in place by 1 September 2022 and as part of the review process Council must engage with the community.
The draft Governance Rules 2022 have included small but significant changes including:
- Inclusion of the Acknowledgement of Country
- Gender neutral language
- Inclusion of ‘in person’, ‘virtual’ and “hybrid” meeting options and embedding these terms
- Ability for participants (Councillors, Officers and Community) to remotely attend
- Process for Councillors requesting remote attendance and the instances where that would be agreed to for a Council meeting, including notification periods and defining ’attendance’ requirements
- Formalising the inclusion of submissions read by the CEO as part of Open Forum
The draft Governance Rules 2022 are primarily written in a way to meet legislative requirements. The content is very procedural but does include the ability for the community to engage in the decision making process through public participation, live streaming and virtual or in person attendance.
How to get involved
Council is now inviting feedback. You can respond in the following ways:
- Complete an online submission (see below)
- Submit via email (details below)
- Call our Customer Contact Centre on 5772 0333
The community exhibition period closes 12.00 noon on Friday 22 July 2022.
Email
Written comments can be emailed to governance@murrindindi.vic.gov.au
Please ensure that you clearly state your full name, contact details and address.
Supply of personal information: The supply of personal information by you is voluntary. The intended recipients of any submissions, including your personal information are Councillors and officers within Council. Please note that your submission may be made public as it may form part of a public report. Further information is provided in the Murrindindi Shire Council’s Privacy Statement.
