2020-05-18 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   18 MAY 2020


REPORTS DIRECT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE
3      FURTHER REPORT – AMENDMENT TO COUNCILLORS ACCEPTABLE REQUESTS
       GUIDELINES POLICY
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Author            Director Executive Services, Debra Iezzi
                  Executive Services Department

Index             ECM/ Subject/ Council Policies

Attachments       1.   Revised Councillors Acceptable Requests Guidelines Policy



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Director Executive Services to the Services and Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 12 May 2020 and the further report to the General Committee Meeting
dated 18 May 2020 and adopt the amended Councillors Acceptable Requests Guideline Policy
provided as Attachment 1 to the further report.

REPORT
A report proposing amendments to the Councillors Acceptable Requests Guidelines Policy was
presented to the Services and Organisation Committee Meeting on 12 May 2020.

At this meeting, Councillors requested a further report be presented to the General Committee
meeting incorporating the following further amendments to the Policy:
     That reference be made to the Councillors Code of Conduct which sets the principles and
      standards of behaviour expected of Councillors and the Mayor when carrying out their
      responsibilities and obligations as elected representatives.
     That reference be made to the Employee Code of Conduct which sets the standards of
      behaviours expected by all employees.
     That links/references be included to the Councillor Code of Conduct and the Employee
      Code of Conduct.
     Clarifying that Councillors have discretion as to how they make requests (verbal/written)
      and can identify their preference as to how they receive that advice (verbal/written).

These changes have been incorporated in the amended Policy attached to this report for
Council’s consideration.

The intent of the policy remains the same – to encourage interaction between Councillors and
our staff recognising that in practice, the nature of the Councillor request will determine how
requests are best dealt with. For minor operational matters, Councillors can deal the relevant
employee but for more complex or policy matters, deal with Managers, Directors or the CEO as
appropriate. To be effective, this process requires good judgment from both Councillors and staff
to ensure that requests are dealt with at the most appropriate level.




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