2018-12-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   11 DECEMBER 2018




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SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   11 DECEMBER 2018

                                                                        —~*      Queensland
                                                                                 Integrity Commissioner

            °      Section 273 of the LGR provid               irements for minutes where council does not
                   adopt a recommendation or advi             ed by an ‘advisor’ and section 175] of the LGA
                   sets out the recording requiremen           a councillor’s material personal interests and
                   conflicts of interests at meetings.

      DLGRMA’s council meetings guide notes that, ‘Council meetings are the most visible activity of the work of
      local governments and their principal decision-making forum...’ It also notes that, ‘Agendas, minutes and
      the actual decisions of councils are arguably the most important records of local governments. Well prepared
      agendas, orderly meetings and minutes that accurately reflect the proceedings of councils lead to an effective,
      efficient and accountable system of local government and ensure that the:
          ¢   =Council has acted within its authority under the LGA09.
          ¢   Council's decision making process is properly documented, transparent and accountable.
      The conduct of open, public and fair local government meetings is also important in helping comply with the
      local government principles under section 4(2) of the LGAO9."4

      However, more specifically DLGRMA’s council meetings guide also states that®, ‘The minutes do not need
      to be a verbatim transcript of proceedings and there is no legal requirements to have a full transcript or even a
      summary of councillor’s statements unless the council resolves that this should occur. The requirement is that
      local government resolutions are clear.
      The minutes of each meeting need to be:
                ¢    an accurate historical recording of the decisions made at the meeting in questions
                ©    concisely written in a consistent, readable format
                e = Made available to the public.’

      In addition to legislative requirements, it is in the public interest that accurate, concise and readable
      minutes of Council meetings are available to the public.

      Other methods of recording meetings
      In my view, producing and publishing audio or visual recordings or verbatim transcripts (Automated
      Recording) is not a substitute for Council minutes of meetings. Even if it was legally permissible (which
      is far from clear) it is not in the public interest that minutes are replaced by any method that requires
      greater time, resources or other investment by the public.

      However, the requirement to take and publish minutes does not, in my view, preclude Council’s use
      of Automated Recording, to serve any ancillary purpose in the public interest. Council must also set
      consistent workable standards, in the public interest that are, ‘rational justifiable and transparent’®, in
      relation its meeting processes. This includes any recording of Council minutes. Ultimately, Council
      should strike a balance between the benefits of enhanced transparency and the need to ensure a
      workable environment for Council and its staff without undue administrative burden.

      3 DLGRMA’s council meetings guide. Paragraph 1.1, page 5
      4 DLGRMA’s council meetings guide. Paragraph 1.3, page 6
      > DLGRMA’s council meetings guide. Paragraph 8.0, page 24
      © DLGRMA’s council meetings guide. Paragraph 1.2, page 5

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