extraordinary council agenda - 24 sept 2018€¦ · extraordinary council meeting agenda 24...

Extraordinary Council

Agenda

Monday 24 September 2018

6.00pm

Seating Plan for the Mayor and Councillors:

Staff Staff Mayor

Cr Peter Cavanagh Staff Staff

Staff Staff

Deputy Mayor

Cr Susan Wynne

Cr Richard Shields

Cr Nick Maxwell Cr Megan McEwin

Cr Isabelle Shapiro Cr Matthew Robertson

Cr Toni Zeltzer Cr Luise Elsing

Cr Mary-Lou Jarvis Cr Lucinda Regan

Cr Mark Silcocks Cr Anthony Marano

Cr Harriett Price Cr Claudia Cullen

Press

Public Gallery

Woollahra Municipal Council

Extraordinary Council Meeting Agenda 24 September 2018


Notice of Meeting

18 September 2018

To: His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Peter Cavanagh ex-officio

Councillors Susan Wynne (Deputy Mayor)

Claudia Cullen

Luise Elsing

Mary-Lou Jarvis

Anthony Marano

Nick Maxwell

Megan McEwin

Harriet Price

Lucinda Regan

Matthew Robertson

Isabelle Shapiro

Richard Shields

Mark Silcocks

Toni Zeltzer

Dear Councillors

Extraordinary Council – 24 September 2018

In accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993, I request your attendance at

Council’s Extraordinary Council meeting to be held in the Council Chambers, 536 New South

Head Road, Double Bay, on Monday 24 September 2018 at 6.00pm.

Gary James

General Manager



Extraordinary

Meeting Agenda Page

1. Leave of Absence and Apologies

2. Declarations of Interest

3. Late Correspondence

4. General Manager and Officer’s Report ................................................................................. 9

4.1 Election of Deputy Mayor (2018 - 2019) - 18/120958 ................................................ 9

4.2 Appointment of Committees for the next twelve (12) months - 18/120963 .............. 13

4.3 Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of Standing Committees - 18/120964 ............ 17

4.4 Representation on other Committees and Organisations - 18/120966 ....................... 19

4.5 Delegations of Authority to The Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the General

Manager and Standing Committees - 18/121245 ....................................................... 23



Item No. 4.1

4. General Manager and Officer’s Report

Item No: 4.1

Subject: ELECTION OF DEPUTY MAYOR (2018 - 2019)

Author: Helen Tola, Manager - Governance & Council Support

Approver: Don Johnston, Director Corporate Services

File No: 18/120958

Reason for Report: To elect the Deputy Mayor for the period September 2018 to September

2019.

Recommendation:

A. THAT the General Manager as the Returning Officer proceeds with the election of the Deputy

Mayor in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local

Government (General) Regulation 2005 for the period of one year (i.e. September 2018 to

September 2019).

B. THAT the election of the Deputy Mayor proceed in accordance with the Local Government

Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

Background:

Section 231 of the Local Government Act provides that:

1) The Councillors may elect a person from among their number to be the Deputy Mayor.

2) The person may be elected for the mayoral term or a shorter term.

3) The Deputy Mayor may exercise any function of the mayor at the request of the mayor or if

the mayor is prevented by illness, absence or otherwise from exercising the function or if

there is a casual vacancy in the office of mayor.

4) The Councillors may elect a person from among their number to act as Deputy Mayor if the

Deputy Mayor is prevented by illness, absence or otherwise from exercising a function under

this section, or if no Deputy Mayor has been elected.

Council determined in September 2017 to elect the Deputy Mayor for a one (1) year term in

2017/18. The election for the position of Deputy Mayor will therefore need to be held in September

2018 in conjunction with the annual review of Committee memberships and the appointment of

Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons.

The procedure to elect the Deputy Mayor is similar to that for the election of the Mayor, where the

current Mayor shall Chair the Meeting with the General Manager acting as the Returning Officer,

conducting the Election.

Section 282(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 (the Act) provides that the Council shall elect

one of its members to be Deputy Mayor. The procedure for the Deputy Mayoral Election is in

accordance with the provisions of Part 11 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

Report:

The election is to be conducted as follows:



Item No. 4.1

(a) The Chairman of the meeting shall invite nominations, which are to be announced and

elections are to be conducted at the same Council meeting. A Councillor may be nominated

without notice. The nomination is to be made in writing by 2 or more Councillors one of

whom may be the nominee. Nomination forms have been circulated with a copy of this

Extraordinary Council Meeting Agenda and will also be available at the meeting. The

nomination is not valid unless the nominee has indicated consent to the nomination in writing.

(b) The nomination is to be delivered or sent to the Returning Officer, who is the General

Manager.

(c) The Returning Officer is to announce the names of the nominees at the Extraordinary Council

Meeting.

(d) If there is only one nomination or if all of the Councillor candidates nominated except one

decline, then the Returning Officer shall declare the nominee elected.

(e) Where there is more than one Councillor candidate the Council must by resolution resolve

whether the election is to be by:

i. Ordinary Ballot, or

ii. Preferential Ballot, or

iii. Open Voting (show of hands)

(f) Preferential ballot and ordinary ballot will be secret ballots. In previous elections it has been

Council’s practice to use the open voting method when necessary.

(g) Where the election is by ballot, the General Manager (or a person appointed by the General

Manager) shall, pursuant to Clause 1, Schedule 7 of the Local Government (General)

Regulation 2005, be the Returning Officer. The Ballot shall be conducted by the preparation,

marking and counting of the ballot papers in the presence of the Council; and it shall be

necessary to carry out all of the procedures of the secret ballot. Clause 5 of the Regulation

also provides:

“If the election proceeds by ordinary ballot, the returning officer is to decide the

manner in which votes are to be marked on the ballot papers.”

(h) Clause 6, Schedule 7 of the Regulation deals with an election involving 2 candidates and

provides:-

(1) If there are only 2 candidates, the candidate with the higher number of votes is elected.

(2) If there are only 2 candidates and they are tied, the one elected is to be chosen by lot.

Note: To choose a candidate by lot, the names of the candidates who have equal numbers are

written on similar slips of paper by the returning officer, the slips are folded by the returning

officer so as to prevent the names being seen, the slips are mixed and one is drawn at random

by the returning officer and the candidate whose name is on the drawn slip is chosen. (Clause

12, Schedule 7).

(i) Clause 7, Schedule 7 of the Regulation deals with an election involving 3 or more candidates

and provides:



Item No. 4.1

Count – 3 or more candidates

7. (1) If there are 3 or more candidates, the one with the lowest number of votes is to be

excluded.

(2) If 3 or more candidates then remain, a further vote is to be taken of those

candidates and the one with the lowest number of votes from that further vote is to

be excluded.

(3) If, after that, 3 or more candidates still remain, the procedure set out in

subclause (2) is to be repeated until only 2 candidates remain.

(4) A further vote is to be taken of the two remaining candidates.

(5) Clause 6 of this Schedule then applies to the determination of the election as if the

2 remaining candidates had been the only candidates.

(6) If at any stage during a count under subclause (1) or (2), 2 or more candidates

are tied on the lowest number of votes, the one excluded is to be chosen by lot.

Part 3 – Preferential Ballot

Application of Part

8. This Part applies if the election proceeds by preferential ballot.

Ballot-papers and voting

9. (1) The ballot-papers are to contain the names of all of the candidates. The

councillors are to mark their votes by placing the numbers “1”, “2” and so on

against the various names so as to indicate the order of their preference for all of

the candidates.

(2) The formality of a ballot-paper under this Part is to be determined in accordance

with Clause 345 (1)(b) and (c) and (5) of this Regulation as if it were a ballot-

paper referred to in that clause.

(3) An informal ballot-paper must be rejected at the count.

Count

10. (1) If a candidate has an absolute majority of first preference votes, that candidate is

elected.

(2) If not, the candidate with the lowest number of first preference votes is excluded

and the votes on the unexhausted ballot-papers counted to him or her are

transferred to the candidates with second preferences on those ballot-papers.

(3) A candidate who then has an absolute majority of votes is elected, but, if no

candidate then has an absolute majority of votes, the process of excluding the

candidate who has the lowest number of votes and counting each of his or her

unexhausted ballot-papers to the candidates remaining in the election next in

order of the voter’s preference is repeated until one candidate has received an

absolute majority of votes. The latter is elected.

(4) In this clause “absolute majority” in relation to votes means a number which is

more than one-half of the number of unexhausted formal ballot-papers.



Item No. 4.1

Tied Candidates

11. (1) If, on any count of votes, there are 2 candidates in, or remaining in, the election

and the number of votes cast for the 2 candidates are equal, the candidate whose

name is first chosen by lot is taken to have received an absolute majority of votes

and is therefore taken to be elected.

(2) If on any count of votes, there are 3 or more candidates in, or remaining in, the

election and the numbers of votes cast for 2 or more candidates are equal and

those candidates are the ones with the lowest number of votes on the count of

votes – the candidate whose name is first chosen by lot is taken to have the lowest

number of votes and is therefore excluded.

At the conclusion of the Ballot (if necessary) and the declaration of the result will be made.

Conclusion:

The Returning Officer will conduct the election of the Deputy Mayor in accordance with the

requirements of the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulation

2005 for the ensuing period of one year (i.e. September 2018 to September 2019).

Annexures

Nil



Item No. 4.2

Item No: 4.2

Subject: APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES FOR THE NEXT TWELVE

(12) MONTHS



File No: 18/120963

Reason for Report: To allow Council to appoint the members of the three (3) Standing

Committees for the next twelve (12) months.

Recommendation:

THAT the Council appoint Councillors to the membership of the Standing Committees for the next

twelve (12) months.

Background:

Woollahra Municipal Council has developed over a long period of time a Committee system to

transact the business of Council.

On 12 March 2018 Council resolved to adopt a revised Committee Structure effective from April

2018. As a result the Corporate & Works Committee (C&W), Community & Environment (C&E)

and Urban Planning (UP) Committee delegations were rescinded and no further meetings of

Committees were held. The Environmental Planning (EP) and Finance, Community & Services

(FC&S) Committees were formed.

Report:

The Council needs to appoint Councillors to each of its three (3) Standing Committees. This report

proposes the appointment of Councillors to each of the Council’s three (3) Standing Committees.

The current Standing Committees are:

Environmental Planning Committee (EP)

Finance, Community & Services Committee (FC&S)

Strategic and Corporate Committee (S&C)

A copy of the current membership is attached as Annexure 1.

Prior to appointing Councillors to the membership of each of the Committees, Councillors should

consider the following resolution (in part) adopted by Council on 14 March 2005:-

“That the number of Councillors on each Committee be considered at the Council Meeting in

September each year which determines the Committee membership.”

There is nothing preventing Council from appointing more or less than the suggested membership

of seven (7) Councillors to each Committee, however if say 5 or 6 members were allocated to one

particular Committee this may leave the Council vulnerable to not having a quorum on that

particular Committee at certain meetings if there are sufficient Councillors on leave of absence or

apologies to that particular Committee meeting.



Item No. 4.2

Set out below is further details on each of the Standing Committees. Councillors should note that

the EP along with the FC&S Committee meet concurrently on a fortnightly basis (commencing

November 2018) on a Monday evening commencing at 6.00pm.

Appointment to Standing Committees

Environmental Planning Committee

Meets: 1st and 3rd Monday

Commences: 6.00pm

Suggested Membership: Mayor (ex-officio)

7 Councillors (not including the Mayor).

Finance, Community & Services Committee

Meets: 1st and 3rd Monday

Commences: 6.00pm

Suggested Membership: Mayor (ex-officio)

7 Councillors (not including the Mayor).

Strategic & Corporate Committee

Meets: As required

Commences: Depends on circumstances

Membership: Mayor (ex-officio)

All Councillors (15 including the Mayor).

Conclusion:

Council needs to determine the membership of each of its three (3) Standing Committees for a

period of twelve months from September 2018 to September 2019.

Annexures

1. Current Committee Membership ⇩

CO_20180924_AGN_AT_EXTRA_files/CO_20180924_AGN_AT_EXTRA_Attachment_5048_1.PDF

Annexure 1 Current Committee Membership



Item No. 4.3

Item No: 4.3

Subject: CHAIRPERSON AND DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF STANDING

COMMITTEES



File No: 18/120964

Reason for Report: To enable Council to determine which method is to be used to determine

the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committees.

Recommendation:

THAT the Council determine the method of electing the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson

of each of the Council’s Standing Committees.

Background:

Clause 267 of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 (the Regulation) states, in part:-

1) The chairperson of each committee of the council must be:

a) the Mayor, or

b) if the Mayor does not wish to be the Chairperson of a Committee—a member of the

Committee elected by the Council, or

c) if the Council does not elect such a member—a member of the Committee elected by the

Committee.

2) A Council may elect a member of a Committee of the Council as Deputy Chairperson of the

Committee. If the Council does not elect a Deputy Chairperson of such a Committee, the

Committee may elect a Deputy Chairperson.

Report:

Recent practice has been that the Council as a whole has elected the Chairperson and Deputy

Chairperson of each Standing Committee. In the event of the Mayor not wishing to be the

Chairperson of any of the Standing Committees, the Council should determine how it wishes to

proceed with the necessary appointments.

Conclusion:

Council needs to determine how it wishes to elect the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of each

of its Standing Committees.

Annexures

Nil



Item No. 4.4

Item No: 4.4

Subject: REPRESENTATION ON OTHER COMMITTEES AND

ORGANISATIONS



File No: 18/120966

Reason for Report: To authorise the appointments to various other Committees and

Organisations.

Recommendation:

A. THAT the Mayor in consultation with the General Manager review the need for the appointment

to the other Committees and Organisations, having regard to the original purpose of the

organisations.

B. THAT subject to the outcome of the review conducted as part of the Recommendation above,

the Mayor exercise delegated authority to appoint the Councillor representatives to the other

Committees and Organisations.

Background:

It has been common practice for the Mayor of the day to appoint delegates and representatives to

the various external and internal committees, working parties and forums.

Many of these groups are “sunset” groups. When the reason for their formation is finalised the

group disbands. With this in mind it is proposed that the Mayor in consultation with the General

Manager reviews the requirement for some of the groups, prior to Councillors being appointed to

the other committees or working parties.

As part of the statutory requirements to review certain matters within twelve (12) months of an

election, Council’s Corporate and Works Committee considered a report on delegations of authority

to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor on 3 August 2009. The recommendation from the Corporate and

Works Committee was considered by the Council on 10 August 2009, where Council resolved to

include in the Mayor’s delegation the following additional authority:

“unless appointed by a resolution of Council, to appoint Councillor representatives to

working parties, task forces, community committees and other organisations and where

appropriate appoint the Chairperson of those working parties, task forces or community

committees”.

Report:

As a result of the 12 March 2018 Council resolution, the alignment of the Other Committees and

Organisations were aligned to the Environmental Planning Committee (EP) and the Finance,

Community & Services Committee (FC&S).



Item No. 4.4

The current composition of the delegates/appointments to these groups is as follows:

Other Committees and Organisations

Environmental Planning (EP) related Sub Committees

COMMITTEE, ORGANISATION OR WORKING PARTY NAME MEMBERSHIP

Double Bay Working Party

As appointed by the Mayor. Currently: 4 Councillors

Paddington DCP Working Party 6 Councillors

Strategic Planning Working Party Mayor & 7 Councillors

Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Community Advisory Committee (CAC)

Mayor & 1 staff

Oxford Street Working Party As appointed by the Mayor.

Woollahra DCP Review Working Party As appointed by the Mayor

Finance, Community & Services (FC&S) related Sub Committees

COMMITTEE, ORGANISATION OR WORKING PARTY NAME MEMBERSHIP

Animal Advisory Committee

2 Councillors

Audit & Assurance Committee

1 Councillor

Citizenship Awards Committee 4 - 5 Councillors

Cultural Committee 2 Councillors (one as Chair)

Eastern Region Local Government Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Forum

1 - 2 Councillors

Ecological Sustainability Taskforce 5 Councillors with Chair appointed by the Mayor

Floodplain Risk Management Committee

3 Councillors (1 Chair and up to 2 more)

Property Assets Working Party Mayor & 4 Councillors

Public Art Panel Mayor and Chair of Cultural Committee or other Councillor as appointed by the Mayor.

Southern Sydney Regional Organisations of Councils (SSROC) - Ordinary

Mayor & 1 Councillor & Alternate

SSROC Standing Committee 1 – Asset management, public works, joint tendering, waste management and SSROC financial reports

1 Councillor

SSROC Standing Committee 2 - Regional planning matters, environmental management, transport plan & management, community development & road safety

1 Councillor

Sydney Coastal Councils Group 2 Councillors

Yarranabbe Park Plan of Management Steering Committee

4 Councillors

Youth Services Forum 2 Councillors

Woollahra Community Safety Committee

2 Councillors

Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Committee

2 Councillors

Woollahra Plaques Advisory Committee Mayor or delegate + 1 Councillor

Woollahra Cultural Day Steering Committee

Appointed by Mayor

Woollahra Local Traffic Committee NSW Police, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), State Member of Parliament (for the location of the issue to be voted upon) and Woollahra Council



Item No. 4.4

Conclusion:

It is recommended that the Mayor in consultation with the General Manager review the need for the

appointment to the other Committees and Organisations, having regard to the original purpose of the

organisations and the Mayor to exercise delegated authority to appoint the Councillor representatives

to the other Committee and Organisations above mentioned for the ensuing period.

Annexures

Nil



Item No. 4.5

Item No: 4.5

Subject:

DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY TO THE MAYOR AND

DEPUTY MAYOR, THE GENERAL MANAGER AND STANDING

COMMITTEES

Authors: Helen Tola, Manager - Governance & Council Support

Don Johnston, Director Corporate Services

Approver: Gary James, General Manager

File No: 18/121245

Reason for Report: To recommend the delegations of authority to be provided to the Mayor

and Deputy Mayor, the General Manager and Standing Committees.

Recommendation:

Council herby resolves that:

A. Delegations to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor contained in Annexure 2 be adopted in

accordance with this report.

B. Delegations and authorities for the Finance, Works & Services Committee, the Environmental

Planning Committee and the Strategic & Corporate Committee contained in Annexure 3 be

reaffirmed in accordance with this report.

C. Delegations to the General Manager contained in Annexure 4 be adopted in accordance with

this report.

Background:

Section 377 of the Local Government Act 1993 allows the Council to delegate its functions to the

Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Standing Committees and the General Manager while also prescribing

those matters that the Council cannot delegate. A copy of Section 377 is attached at Annexure 1.

The delegation of functions and authorities by the Council are regarded as procedural in nature to

facilitate and give effect to the operations of the Council.

The Local Government Act also requires that Council carry out a review of all of its delegations

within 12 months of each local government election. In this respect, Council on 25 September 2017

reviewed the delegations of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor and the delegations and authorities of

Council’s Standing Committees. Subsequently, Council on 12 March 2018 resolved to consolidate

Standing Committees into two new Committees of Finance, Community & Services and

Environmental Planning. The delegations and authorities of the previous Standing Committees were

reaffirmed as part of the new committee structure

Council also resolved on 12 March 2018 to rescind all previous delegations for the determination of

development and related applications and replaced those delegations with the following delegation

to the General Manager:



Item No. 4.5

“Delegates to the General Manager powers under section 4.8(2)(b) of the Environmental

Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to determine all development and related applications

under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act that are not required to be determined

by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel or the Woollahra Local Planning Panel.”

This report reviews the delegations of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and the General Manager. The

report seeks to reaffirm the delegations and authorities of the new Standing Committees of Finance,

Community & Services and Environmental Planning and the Strategic & Corporate Committee.

A. Delegations to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor

The role of the Mayor as set out in Section 226 of the Local Government Act 1993 is as follows:

to be the leader of the council and a leader in the local community,

to advance community cohesion and promote civic awareness,

to be the principal member and spokesperson of the governing body, including representing

the views of the council as to its local priorities,

to exercise, in cases of necessity, the policy-making functions of the governing body of the

council between meetings of the council,

to preside at meetings of the council,

to ensure that meetings of the council are conducted efficiently, effectively and in accordance

with this Act,

to ensure the timely development and adoption of the strategic plans, programs and policies of

the council,

to promote the effective and consistent implementation of the strategic plans, programs and

policies of the council,

to promote partnerships between the council and key stakeholders,

to advise, consult with and provide strategic direction to the general manager in relation to the

implementation of the strategic plans and policies of the council,

in conjunction with the general manager, to ensure adequate opportunities and mechanisms

for engagement between the council and the local community,

to carry out the civic and ceremonial functions of the mayoral office,

to represent the council on regional organisations and at inter-governmental forums at

regional, State and Commonwealth level,

in consultation with the councillors, to lead performance appraisals of the general manager,

to exercise any other functions of the council that the council determines.

The role of the Deputy Mayor as set out in Section 231(3) of the Local Government Act 1993 is as

follows:

The deputy mayor may exercise any function of the mayor at the request of the mayor or if the

mayor is prevented by illness, absence or otherwise from exercising the function or if there is

a casual vacancy in the office of the mayor.

The delegations listed in Annexure 2 to this report provide specific details as to the exercise of the

function of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, so as to give effect to Sections 226 and 231(3) of the

Local Government Act 1993.



Item No. 4.5

Following the Minister for Planning’s direction issued on 26 February 2018, Council itself and the

former Development Control Committee are no longer determining development applications.

Accordingly, the following authorisations have been removed from the Mayor’s delegations of

authority:

To authorise, in conjunction with the General Manager and Chairperson of the Development

Control Committee, on recommendation of the appropriate Staff Officer of the Council, the

resisting of any appeal to the Land and Environment Court, against a decision of the Council

in respect of a development related application.

To consent, where Court determined constraints prevent reporting to the Development

Control Committee before the hearing, in consultation with the General Manager, to the

entering into of consent orders where Council’s solicitors have recommended consent orders

be entered into, subject to satisfactory conditions, arrangements as to costs where appropriate

and all parties including the parties who made submissions be advised of the decision.

The Mayor’s delegated authority has been amended accordingly.

B. Delegations to Standing Committees

This Council over many years has developed a set of delegations to Committees which incorporate

safeguards that allow decision making to occur efficiently while enabling Councillors to be

effectively involved in key decisions.

This delegation and safeguards system allows the Standing Committees to determine matters under

delegation or requires the matter to be referred to full Council (the safeguards) with a Committee

recommendation if that recommendation contains a substantive change to the original

recommendation on the business paper.

At its meeting of 12 March 2018, Council resolved that the delegations and authorities for the

former Corporate & Works Committee, the Urban Planning Committee, the Community

Environment Committee be incorporated into delegations and authorities for the new Finance,

Community & Services Committee and the Environmental Planning Committee as appropriate.

Annexure 3 sets out the revised delegations and authorities for the Finance, Community & Services

Committee and the Environmental Planning Committee, as well as the authorities to apply to the

Strategic & Corporate Committee.

C. Delegations to the General Manager

The purpose of delegations from the Council to the General Manager is to facilitate and give effect

to the day-to-day operations of the Council. The delegations do not conflict with the decision-

making powers of the Council and the operations of the Standing Committees. The delegations are

exercised in conjunction with the functions of the General Manager as outlined under Section 355

of the Local Government Act, as follows:

“Section 335 - Functions of general manager

The general manager of a council has the following functions:

to conduct the day-to-day management of the council in accordance with the strategic plans,

programs, strategies and policies of the council,



Item No. 4.5

to implement, without undue delay, lawful decisions of the council,

to advise the mayor and the governing body on the development and implementation of the

strategic plans, programs, strategies and policies of the council,

to advise the mayor and the governing body on the appropriate form of community

consultation on the strategic plans, programs, strategies and policies of the council and other

matters related to the council,

to prepare, in consultation with the mayor and the governing body, the council’s community

strategic plan, community engagement strategy, resourcing strategy, delivery program,

operational plan and annual report,

to ensure that the mayor and other councillors are given timely information and advice and the

administrative and professional support necessary to effectively discharge their functions,

to exercise any of the functions of the council that are delegated by the council to the general

manager,

to appoint staff in accordance with the organisation structure determined under this Chapter

and the resources approved by the council,

to direct and dismiss staff,

to implement the council’s workforce management strategy,

any other functions that are conferred or imposed on the general manager by or under this or

any other Act.”

The proposed delegations of the General Manager are provided in Annexure 4. The General

Manager’s delegations were adopted by the Council on 11 June 2013, and amended on 12 March

2018 in conjunction with the changes in determining development and related applications.

Comment was recently sought from Lindsay Taylor Lawyers on the currency of specific delegations

of the General Manager. The recommended delegations as outlined in Annexure 4 are consistent

with the Local Government Act.

The following specific matters are brought to the Council attention:

Acceptance of Tenders Section 377 of the Local Government Act 1993 was amended on 1 October 2016 to allow general

managers to approve all tenders except those tenders where the objective is to obtain services

currently provided by Council staff. The amendment recognises that tenders are operational matters

and accordingly, should be dealt with as a function of the General Manager. The amendment does

not change the regulatory requirements that need to be applied by the Council in calling expressions

of interest and tenders under the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.

Provision of Financial Assistance Sections 377(1)(q) of the Act does not allow Council to delegate a decision under Section 356 to

contribute money or otherwise grant financial assistance to persons. However, the granting of

financial assistance can be delegated where the granting of financial assistance is part of a Council

program that is included in the Council’s Operational Plan and applies uniformly throughout the

Council area. In exceptional circumstances the General Manager has dealt with matters involving

financial assistance but this does not impact on Council and the Committee meeting processes to

provide an important mechanism for members of the community and other stakeholders (including

grants applicants) to provide meaningful and direct feedback to Councillors.



Item No. 4.5

Delegations Conferred by others There are also additional delegations (refer to Section “Delegations Conferred by Others” in

Annexure 3) that allow Council staff to take specific action under Acts other than the Local

Government Act. It is recommended that these additional delegations to the General Manager be

reaffirmed.

Conclusion:

This report is provided so that Councillors can resolve the delegations and authority that are to be

provided to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Council, the Council’s Standing Committees and those

to the General Manager of the Council.

Annexures

1. Section 371 of the Local Government Act 1993 ⇩

2. Mayor and Deputy Mayor Delegations ⇩

3. Delegations and Authorities for Standing Committees ⇩

4. General Manager Delegations ⇩







Annexure 1 Section 371 of the Local Government Act 1993



Annexure 2 Mayor and Deputy Mayor Delegations



Annexure 3 Delegations and Authorities for Standing Committees



Annexure 4 General Manager Delegations



Political Donations: Matters to be considered by Councillors at Council and/or Committee Meetings

Action

Participate in debate and

vote on the matter.

Did the applicant, owner (if

not the applicant) or

someone close to the

applicant make a donation

in excess of $1,000 that

directly benefited your

election campaign?

(Code of Conduct Cl 4.21).

Staff to record decision process

(motions/amendments) and

Division of votes for the determinative

resolution or recommendation in the

meeting minutes.

No

Yes

Action

Consider appropriate action required.

This could include limiting involvement by:

1. participating in discussion

but not in decision making (vote),

2. participating in

decision making (vote)

but not in the discussion

3. not participating in the discussion

or decision making (vote)

4. removing the source of the conflict.

Action

Declare a significant non-pecuniary conflict

of interest, absent yourself from the meeting

and take no further part in the debate or

vote on the matter

(Code of Conduct Cl 4.16(b)).

No

Matter before

Council and/or Committee Meeting

Action

Declare a significant non-pecuniary conflict

of interest, absent yourself from the meeting

and take no further part in the debate or

vote on the matter

(Code of Conduct Cl 4.16(b)).

Yes

Did the applicant or

someone close to the

applicant make a donation

less than $1,000 that

directly benefited your

election campaign?


Do you believe the political

contribution creates a

significant non-pecuniary

conflict of interest for you?


Yes Yes

No No

Is the matter before the

meeting a Planning Matter?

Staff to record decision process

(motions/amendments) and

Division of votes for the determinative

resolution or recommendation in the

meeting minutes.

or

extraordinary council agenda - 24 sept 2018€¦ · extraordinary council meeting agenda 24...

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