Under the new
Local Government Act 2020, the council must adopt
Governance Rules, including an
Election Period Policy, a
Public Transparency Policy and a
Council Expenses Policy by September 1, 2020. The Act provides the minimum requirements for inclusion in these documents.
These draft policies are now out for community feedback before further consideration and adoption at the August council meeting.
Draft Public Transparency Policy
Under section 57 of the Act, the council must adopt a
Public Transparency Policy.
A key tenet of the Public Transparency Principles is that council information must be publicly available unless it is confidential by virtue of legislation or making it available would be contrary to the public interest.
The policy describes which council information is publicly available and how to access this information. It also explains when council information may be confidential or when making it available may be contrary to the public interest.
Draft Council Expenses Policy
Under section 41 of the Act, the council must adopt and maintain a Councillor Expenses Policy in relation to the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses for Councillors and members of delegated committees that:
- Specifies procedures to be followed in applying for reimbursement and in reimbursing expenses;
- Provides for the reimbursement of child care costs where the provision of child care is reasonably required for a Councillor or member of a delegated committee to perform their role; and,
- Has particular regard to expenses incurred by a Councillor who is a carer in a care relationship within the meaning of section 4 of the Carers Recognition Act 2012.
While the draft policy closely resembles the current policy that was required under the Local Government Act 1989, it has been amended in order to comply with the legislative changes introduced by the 2020 Act.
Draft Election Period Policy
One of the requirements of the Act is the council must adopt an Election Period Policy and that the policy form part of the Governance Rules (sections 60(1)(e) and 69(1)).
This policy sets out the protocols the council will observe during the election period.
While the draft policy closely resembles the current policy that was required under the Local Government Act 1989, it has been amended in order to comply with the legislative changes introduced by the 2020 Act.
Draft Governance Rules
Under section 60 of LGA 2020 is that the council adopt a set of
Governance Rules.
The
Governance Rules must address (or be ‘for or with respect to’) the following.
- Conduct of Council meetings
- Conduct of meetings of delegated committees
- Form and availability of meeting records
- Election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and an Acting Mayor
- An election period policy in accordance with section 69
- Procedures for the disclosure of a conflict of interest by a Councillor or a member of a delegated committee under section 130
- Procedure for the disclosure of a conflict of interest by a Councillor under section 131
- 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(1)
- Any other matters prescribed by the regulations
The rules must also provide for the council to:
- Consider and make decisions on any matter being considered by the council fairly and on the merits; and,
- Institute decision-making processes to ensure that any person whose rights will be directly affected by a decision of the council is entitled to communicate their views and have their interests considered.
The draft Governance Rules are divided into an introduction and seven chapters.