2016-08-09 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                    9 AUGUST 2016


Definitions

Council Business shall mean official business conducted on behalf of Council, where a
Councillor is required to undertake certain tasks to satisfy legislative requirements or achieve
Council objectives, for example, attend official Council meetings, Councillor forums and
workshops, Committees/Boards as Council’s official representative, and scheduled meetings
relating to Council appointments.

Council Business should result in a benefit being achieved either for the local government and/or
the local community, for example, this includes but is not limited to:

 Preparing, attending and participating in Council meetings, Committee meetings, workshops,
   strategic briefings, deputations and inspections;
 Investigating issues/complaints regarding Council services raised by residents/ ratepayers/
   visitors to the Council area;
 Undertaking approved professional development opportunities;
 Attending civic functions or events;
 Attending public/community meetings, presentation dinners, annual general meetings where
   invited as a Councillor;
 Attending a community event (e.g. school fete, community group awards and presentations,
   fundraisers) where a formal invitation has been received.

Participating in a community group event or being a representative on a Board not associated
with Council is not regarded as Council business.

Councillors shall mean the Mayor and Councillors unless otherwise stated.

Expense shall mean payments made by Council to reimburse Councillors for their reasonable
expenses incurred or to be incurred when discharging their duties as Councillors. These
payments are not regarded as remuneration. The expenses may be either reimbursed to
Councillors or paid direct by Council for something that is deemed a necessary cost or charge
when on Council business.

Facility shall mean the ‘tools of trade’ provided by Council, required to enable Councillors to
perform their duties with relative ease and at a standard appropriate to fulfil their professional role
for the community.

Hospitality expense is defined in Council’s Entertainment and Hospitality Expenditure Policy as
reasonable costs associated with entertaining visitors (where Council has an interest in, or a
specific obligation towards, facilitating the visit).

Professional Development shall mean attendance by a Councillor at an event where the
Councillor expects to develop further skills and knowledge relevant to their role as a Councillor.

Representation shall mean attendance by a Councillor at various community and special
interest representative group meetings and events, which are relevant to the role of Councillor.

Reasonable shall mean the application of sound judgement and consideration of what is
prudent, responsible and acceptable to the community when determining levels of facilities and
expenditure.




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