Council Meeting Dates

• About Council Meetings
• Council Meeting Dates 2009
• How Council Meetings Work

About Council Meetings

Approximately 21 Ordinary Meetings of the Council are held each year. Between February and December Meetings are held every 2 to 3 weeks on a Monday evening commencing at 7.30pm with an open forum, and are open to the public.  The formal Council Meeting begins at 7.45pm.

At Council Meetings, Councillors discuss the issues and recommendations on the Agenda and listen to speakers. If you wish to speak on an item on the Agenda, you may apply to speak by completing a form by either printing it via the link below or collecting one from our service centres.

Speakers are normally limited to three persons for and three against any proposal before Council, and are limited to three items for any one speaker. Forms must be submitted by 2.00pm on the Meeting day by delivery to one of our service centres or by faxing to 9499 9475, and shall be treated in order of receipt.

During the Open Forum which precedes the formal part of the Meeting, Councillors welcome questions and comments from the public gallery . The public forum will be extended to 8.00pm if required. The Councillors and staff will provide an answer on the spot, or if this is not possible, a written response will follow in the mail.
 
Please click on the link below to view the 'Petitions and Joint Letters Guidelines'.

Council Meeting Dates 2009

Council Meetings begin at 7.45pm and are open to the Public. They are preceded by an Open Forum commencing at 7.30pm, during which Councillors welcome questions or brief comments from the public. The public forum will be extended to 8.00pm if required.

If you wish to speak to an item on the Agenda, please complete a Request to Speak form available from our service centres or via the link above.

Availability of Agendas:
Agendas for both the Council Meetings and the Special Committee Meetings are available for viewing from midday on the Friday preceding the Meeting from the Ivanhoe, Rosanna and Greensborough Service Centres. Copies are also available for perusal at the Ivanhoe, Rosanna, Diamond Valley and Watsonia libraries as well as the bookmobile, or view the Agenda on Council's website - see Council Meeting Agendas and Minutes.

Council Meeting Venue:
Council Chambers, Service Centre;
275 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe (Melway Ref 31 F7)

How Council Meetings Work

Council Meetings are open to the public, however the Council may resolve to close the Meeting to members of the public if the Meeting is discussing any of the following:

• Personnel matters
• The personal hardship of any resident or ratepayer
• Industrial matters
• Contractual matters
• Proposed developments
• Legal advice
• Matters affecting the security of Council property.

The Council holds a Special Meeting in November of every year to elect a Mayor. Other Special Meetings are held to adopt the Annual Budget and consider the Annual Report, or as the need arises to consider matters of a contractual or confidential nature.

How are Council Meetings conducted

A Local Law has been created by Council to govern the conduct of Council Meetings by prescribing the rules and protocols for proper meeting conduct and debate.  Local Law No. 2 (2005) "Conduct of Meetings Local Law" and "Meeting Procedures Code".

How decisions are made

The Mayor presides in the Chair at each Council Meeting. The Mayor will introduce each item of business on the Agenda by reading out the item number and the title of the item and call for a mover and seconder of the motion. Debate on the item cannot proceed until the motion has been moved and seconded.

Generally the motion will be to:

• Move the officer’s recommendation in the Council Agenda for that item; or
• Move an officer’s alternative recommendation; or
• Move an alternative motion; or
• Move a procedural motion.

The Mayor will indicate who has seconded the motion. If there is no seconder the motion lapses. Another motion can be moved. If nothing is moved nothing further happens with the item.

Upon the motion being seconded, the Mayor will invite the mover of the motion and then the seconder of the motion to speak. They may speak or decline the opportunity to speak. The Mayor will then invite speakers for and against the motion. During this process any Councillor can move an amendment, or give notice of their intention to move an alternative motion, if the motion being considered is not adopted. The debate must always be relevant to the matter before the meeting. When there are no more speakers the mover of the motion is invited to close the debate. The Mayor then puts the motion to the vote. The motion can be carried or defeated. If defeated, an alternative motion on the matter at hand can be moved.

Voting

Voting on a motion is by show of hands. The Chairperson will call for those in favour of the motion and then those against the motion, and will declare the result to the meeting. Each Councillor present must vote on the motion. If there is an equality of votes, the Chairperson has a second vote.

A Councillor may call for a division on the vote. If a division is called those voting in favour must stand in their place and then those voting against will stand in their place. The Chairperson will declare the vote carried or lost. A Councillor may change their vote between the first vote and the division.

Public participation

The Council provides an opportunity to the public to participate in the Council meeting in a number of ways.

1. Open Forum

The Open Forum is held before the Ordinary meeting of Council, commencing at 7.30pm and continuing until 8pm if necessary. The Mayor will call for speakers and request that they use the microphone available and state their name and where they are from. The forum is limited to questions directed to the Mayor. Participants are not allowed to address an individual councillor or officer, nor are they permitted to make political statements or attempt to debate the response. The Mayor will ask one of the Council officers to answer the question, if the answer is unavailable on the night, the officer will make every effort to provide a written answer to the questioner.

2. Request to Speak

A member of the public may request to speak on an item listed on the Council Agenda. This is quite a common request in particular if an item for consideration by Council will affect the speaker personally, for example, a planning decision. An application to speak at the Council Meeting must be submitted by 2pm on the Meeting day by delivery to a Council Service Centre or by faxing to 9499 9475. Request to Speak applications shall be treated in order of receipt. Speakers are normally limited to three persons for and three against any proposal before Council. Download a Request to Speak Form.

3. Petitions and Joint Letters

Petitions and joint letters are ways that you can bring a matter of concern before Council. A petition is a formal document that attempts to influence the decision-making or actions of the Council. A joint letter is any correspondence that is signed by more than one person.

Please note that a petition or joint letter should:

• be in a legible and permanent form of writing, typing or printing;
• not be defamatory, indecent, abusive or objectionable in language or substance; and
• not relate to a matter beyond the powers of Council

The original petition (not a copy) must be received to be actioned by Council. A petition which is derogatory or defamatory may be refused. A petition is normally presented to Council within a week or two of it being received.

The "primary petitioner" (the person who signs the covering letter or in its absence, the first name on the petition) will be advised the date of presentation and Council’s decision. Further information may be obtained by downloading the Guide to Petitions & Joint Letters.

4. Section 223 Submissions

Section 223 of the Local Government Act allows the public the right to make a written and/or verbal submission to Council on a number of provisions in the Act.

These include:

• new or revised Local Laws;
• adoption of a budget or revised budget;
• review of Ward boundaries;
• changes to the system of valuation;
• proposed special rates and charges;
• proposed sale, exchange or lease of land;
• changes to the use of Council owned land bought for a specified purpose;
• proposals to enter or change a regional library agreement;
• drainage of land orders;
• declarations of a road as open to the public or as a public highway;
• placement of vehicular size or weight limits on roads;
• placement of barriers on roadways;
• discontinuance of roads; and
• changing the level or alignment of a road.

When considering any of the above matters Council must publish a public notice stating that submissions in respect of the specified matter will be considered. Council or where the Council so determines, a committee of the Council, must consider any written submission received within 14 days of the public notice.

A person who has made a written submission to the Council can request that he or she be heard in support of their submission and is entitled to appear in person or by a person acting on his or her behalf before a meeting of the Council or the committee.

Council will notify every person who has lodged a separate submission of the day, time and place of a meeting to hear submissions. Council must take into consideration all the submissions made under this section and after it has made a decision on the matter, must notify in writing every person who lodged a submission.

Meeting Minutes

The Minute Secretary is present at each Meeting to record the Council resolutions and motions. Minutes of the Meeting are made available as soon after the meeting as possible and may be accessed by clicking on the link Council Meeting Agendas and Minutes.

The Minutes are confirmed at the next Ordinary Meeting of the Council and signed by the Chairperson as a true and correct record of proceedings.

Role of Council Staff

The role of Council staff is to implement the decision made by Councillors at their Meetings. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the day to day management of the Council organisation and for appointing and directing officers. Senior staff of Council attend Council Meetings to provide expert advice. They cannot vote or participate in debate.

Knowing whats on

Residents and ratepayers can keep informed of what is happening at Council in a number of ways:

• Attend Council Meetings. This gives you the opportunity to know first-hand what policies, plans and strategies are being considered by Council.
• Read the Banyule Banner. Council provides a range of information in the Banner which is delivered monthly to all households in Banyule. You can access copies by clicking here
• Council advises of draft plans, policies and strategies through the Banner and Leader newspapers. Residents are given the opportunity to make submissions on these reports. Your views will be taken into account in the final draft for adoption by Council. Copies may be obtained from the Internet, or Council Service Centres, you can also read them at the local libraries.
• Responding to surveys. Council canvasses the views of the community through a number of surveys. It helps the Council to make decisions for the benefit of residents if they make their views known by responding to surveys when requested.