2018-06-12 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  12 JUNE 2018


           Matters on which there is not consensus are referred to the General Committee for
           consideration.
     2.    At the General Committee, the outcomes of the meeting reported to the Ordinary
           meeting include the final recommendation being made by the General Committee to
           the full Council (the same process as used for the Planning and Environment
           Committee and Services and Organisation Committee). The outcomes do not include
           any lost motions/amendments, divisions on voting, requests by a Councillor to record
           how they voted, or specific amendments moved by Councillors. During the meeting,
           minutes of all deliberations are recorded and projected on screen to allow Councillors
           and the public attending the meeting to keep track of the debate but it is currently
           only the final recommendations that are reported to Council and form part of the
           Council meeting agenda.

Q.   Is Council currently in full technical compliance with the Local Government Regulation
     2012?
A.   No. There are two areas of current non-compliance – sections 270 and 276. Details of
     these sections are outlined below. Essentially, section 270 requires a mover / seconder
     and as Councillors are aware, our Planning and Environment Committee and Services and
     Organisation Committee have been operating on a consensus model without requiring a
     formal mover/seconder of motions. Further, section 276 sets out a series of requirements
     for the keeping of minutes and given that we haven’t passed an exemption resolution
     pursuant to section 272 (6) we don’t currently comply.

Q.   Does the non-compliance with these provisions of the Local Government Regulation 2012
     mean that past Council decisions are “unlawful”?
A.   No. To ensure clarity around this issue, the CEO sought legal advice from King and
     Company Solicitors. Their advice was very clear. The non-compliance is a matter of
     procedure, not substance and the decisions of Council are not “legally invalid” as a result.
     Council Committees do not have decision making power and their sole purpose is to make
     a recommendation to Council and it is Council that makes the actual decision at the
     Ordinary meeting.

3    THE PROVISIONS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATION 2012
The relevant provisions of the Local Government Regulation 2012 are set out below for
information.
Section 270 Procedure at meetings
(1) Business may be conducted at a meeting of a committee only if a quorum is present.
(2) At a meeting of a committee—
     (a) voting must be open; and
     (b) a question is decided by a majority of the votes of the members present; and
     (c) each member present has a vote on each question to be decided and, if the votes are
          equal, the member presiding also has a casting vote; and
     (d) if a member present fails to vote, the member is taken to have voted in the negative.
Section 272 Minutes
(1) The chief executive officer must ensure minutes of each meeting of a local government are
     taken under the supervision of the person presiding at the meeting.
(2) Minutes of each meeting must include—
     (a) the names of councillors or committee members present at the meeting; and
     (b) if a division is called on a question—the names of all persons voting on the question
          and how they voted.

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