How to Have Your Say in Council - Under the Local Govt Act 1993

Your vote is your voice. If you are a resident you must vote in Council elections. If you are a non resident rate payer you are also entitled to apply for a vote (when you can prove a right to occupancy for the next three years).

Everyone can attend a Council or committee meeting unless the meeting or part of the meeting is closed to the public. Council must give public notice of the time and places of its meetings and committee meetings. Council must have business papers for the meeting available for the public for inspection and to take away.

The focus of the Local Government Act 1993 is to encourage Councils to be open and accountable to the community. The main point of contact at your Local Council is the Public Officer, who in our Councils case is Mrs Tricia Harris. The Public Officer will handle requests on Council matters, assist you to gain access to Councils public documents and receive submissions to Council.

The Freedom of Information Act has been widened to assist people to apply for and gain access to Councils documents. Council must now publish a Statement of Affairs and Summary of Affairs and have all their policy documents available to the public.

Council is more accountable to the public through easy access to information, management plans, performance indicators and annual reports. Each year Council must adopt a management plan for at least the next three years, together with a proposed revenue policy for the next year. The Management Plan must include a statement of Councils objectives and performance targets.

Council must report its achievements within five months after the end of each financial year. The report will evaluate objectives and performance targets that council has set out in its management plan.

Examples of Council documents that are categorized as public and are able to be viewed. A copy of a majority of these documents are available on the website under About the Council/Council Documents):

• Councils code of conduct; councils meeting practise (Available on website)
• annual report (available on website)
• annual financial reports (usually part of annual report)
• auditors report
• management plan (available on website)
• EEO management plan (available on website)
• Councils policy concerning payment of expenses and provision of facilities to councillors
• Councils land register
• Register of investments
• Returns of interests of councillors
• designated persons and delegates
• returns of campaign donations
• business papers for council & committee meetings
• minutes of council & committee meetings
• local policies adopted by council concerning approvals & orders
• records of approvals granted and decisions made on appeal
• records of building certificates
• plans of land proposed to be compulsorily acquired by council
• leases and licenses for public land classified as community land
• environmental planning instruments
• development control plans and plans made under Section 94AB of the EP&A Act 1979 applying to land within the councils area (Available on Website under Environment/Zoning & Maps)
• Statement of affairs
• summary of affairs

For further information please contact Mrs Tricia Harris, Administration Manager at the Moulamein Office.

© 2008 Wakool Shire Council
This page: http://wakool.local-e.nsw.gov.au/faqs/pages/26396.html