The current Parkes Shire councillors only have a couple of months left in office, but they have some advice for the new council being elected in September.
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Hold just one meeting each month - not two!
It’s too late to trial once-a-month meetings now, but council will recommend the procedure be put in place after the local government election on September 10.
Mayor Ken Keith however, doesn’t want potential candidates to think a councillor’s role will mean a lesser commitment by cutting back to one meeting a month.
“Anyone contemplating standing for council needs to know it’s not about attending a council meeting but also about the many committees that exist within council,” Cr Keith said.
“These committees require participation and input from councillors to function.
“That’s why it’s important candidates know this,” he said.
Councillor Patrica Smith raised the idea of one meeting instead of two at the May 17 council meeting.
She suggested this could attract more candidates for the September elections while at the same time, encouraging existing councillors to stand once again.
Cr Smith also suggested meetings could commence at 9am with committee meetings to follow where necessary.
As requested, General Manager Kent Boyd investigated the arrangements of other councils in the region.
Interestingly, Parkes is the only council that meets twice a month.
Bathurst, Forbes, Lachlan, Dubbo, Lithgow, Cowra, Orange, Cabonne and Mudgee all get by with once a month meetings.
Starting times of these meetings also vary - from 9am (Lachlan), 1pm (Forbes), 5pm (Cowra) and 7pm (Bathurst).
“There appears to be a tendency to hold council meetings of an evening, particularly in larger councils, perhaps with a general exception of larger rural councils which can start during the day, possibly to accommodate councillors having to travel from reaches of their shire,” Mr Boyd said.
“In Parkes circumstance for example, if a councillor was elected from the far northwest of the shire, they may have to travel well in excess of 100 kilometres to attend meetings in Parkes.”
Mr Boyd also presented a `snapshot’ of council meetings during the first five months of the year, which indicated an average duration of just under three hours.
On average, council makes approximately 26 resolutions per meeting.
In his report, Mr Boyd said if council so directed, the business papers could be tailored to promote ‘shorter and sharper’ meetings, and more detailed considerations could then be referred.
