Issue - decisions

Memorandum by the Chief Executive Officer

To Council:

This memorandum requests that Council approve the draft Schedule of Meetings and Briefings for 2022.

The draft Schedule of Meetings and Briefings for 2022 (Attachment A) has been prepared on the basis of a three-week meeting cycle (Councillor Briefings, Committees and Council), consistent with the meeting arrangements adopted by Council in previous years. The draft schedule proposes 10 meeting cycles for 2022.

Section 365 of the Local Government Act 1993 states that "the council is required to meet at least 10 times each year, each time in a different month", with "year" meaning the period from 1 July to the following 30 June (the financial year).

To ensure compliance with the provisions of section 365, the draft Schedule of Meetings and Briefings for the calendar year 2022 provides for:

(a)       five meetings in the first half of 2022 (making a total of 10 meetings for the 2021/22 financial year, inclusive of the five meetings of Council which will have been held in the second half of 2021); and

(b)       five meetings of Council held in the second half of 2022 (making a total of 10 meetings for the 2022/23 financial year, on the basis that a further five meetings of Council will be scheduled for the first half of 2023).

It is noted that:

(a)       the Special Conference of Local Government NSW is currently scheduled to be held from 28 February to 2 March 2022;

(b)       the 2022 Annual Conference of Local Government NSW is currently scheduled to be held from 23 to 25 October 2022;

(c)       briefings will be held on the Tuesday in June 2022 due to a public holiday falling on the relevant Monday; and

(d)       if considered necessary, additional "tentative" briefings dates, intended to accommodate such matters as external presentations, workshops and other non-meeting agenda items, will be separately distributed to Councillors, following approval of the draft schedule.

It would be appropriate for Council to now determine a program of meetings for next year to enable all interested parties to plan their commitments.

The City's website will be updated with the 2022 meeting dates if endorsed by Council.

On 24 July 2021, the Minister for Local Government announced that the September 2021 local government elections would be postponed to address the risks posed by the Delta outbreak of Covid-19 in Greater Sydney. A new date for the local government elections has been set for Saturday 4 December 2021.

On 16 August 2021, Council endorsed an amended schedule of meeting and briefings for 2021 to address the implications arising from the changed election date.

To ensure the timely governance of Council over the summer recess period, it is proposed that an extraordinary meeting of Council be held on Thursday 23 December 2021 after the finalisation of election results (noting that the NSW Electoral Commission and Office of Local Government have advised that this will most likely be between 21 and 23 December 2021).

MONICA BARONE

Chief Executive Officer

Attachments

Attachment A.           Draft Schedule of Meetings and Briefings for 2022

Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Scully –

It is resolved that Council:

(A)      adopt the draft schedule of meetings and briefings for 2022, as shown at Attachment A to the subject memorandum; and

(B)      endorse holding the post-election extraordinary meeting of Council on 23 December 2021.

Carried unanimously.

S063444-02

The recess continues until the first Committee meetings

of 2023.