2019-11-21 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                       21 NOVEMBER 2019


3    MAYORAL MINUTES


                                 MAYORAL MINUTE
I hereby give notice of my intention to move the following motion at the Ordinary Meeting on
Thursday, 21 November 2019:


1    TRIAL PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE 2020-21 BUDGET
     That Council:
     A.    Agree to undertake a trial public consultation process during the development of the
           2020-21 budget as set out in this Mayoral Minute;
     B.    Note that any actual budget decisions can only be made as a resolution of Council as
           part of the budget adoption process under the Local Government Act but that community
           input into this process will be valuable for Councillors and the organisation;
     C.    Agree that the cost of this public consultation process will be referred to Budget Review
           3; and
     D.    Note this proposal is for the 2020-21 budget process only, and may be refined or
           reconsidered by any future Council for any future Noosa Council budgets.


BACKGROUND

One of the considerations of the State Government’s local government reforms could see councils
“consult with the community in the preparation of the budget” (Local Government Regulatory
Reforms, Key amendments currently under consideration, April 2019).

On 28 June 2019, at the adoption of the 2019/20 budget, I announced that we would be commencing
public consultation on future Council budget processes.

Public trust in government has been eroded in recent years with polling showing a worrying decline
in support for democracy. Although Local Government enjoys higher trust rating than State or
Federal Government, in Queensland, events at Ipswich and Logan Councils, CCC investigations at
Gold Coast and Moreton Bay, and the State’s recent drive to implement Belcarra recommendations
all play into a growing attitudinal shift.

In this climate, demands for increased public sector transparency are inevitable.

Noosa Council needs to be on the front foot, including building community trust through better public
understanding of the Council’s budget decision-making. One way to engender both trust and
awareness of Council’s many services and activities is to allow community members to scrutinise
and make comment upon the budget during the deliberation period.

This will help deliver understanding about budgetary trade-offs and decisions, performance
challenges, new rates or levies, and financial sustainability requirements. Furthermore, Council can
take into consideration well-informed recommendations from its community who it represents.

It must be acknowledged that only the elected Councillors can formally approve and thus adopt a
budget. All budget decisions are made by Councillors, and this responsibility cannot be delegated.
However, a community consultation process can better inform that decision-making by Councillors.


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