Ordinary Council Meeting April 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 08:10 AM
CHANGES TO COUNCIL MEETING PLACE AND PUBLIC QUESTION TIME COVID-19
New Local Government Regulations have come into effect which enable local governments to host and attend Council and Committee meetings electronically in a public health emergency, which has been declared by the Federal and State Governments with respect to COVID-19.
In order to adhere to the social distancing and self-isolation rules that have been put into place, Council will be holding future Ordinary Council Meetings electronically, commencing from 16 April 2020.
This format will continue until the public health emergency has passed.
Elected Members will attend the meetings electronically via a video conferencing platform and from a suitable place, which have both been determined by the Council .
The Regulations provide that the meeting(s) will be deemed to be open to the public if the Minutes are available for public inspection within 10 working days after the meeting.
Public Question Time will still remain an item on the Agenda however the format will change. Questions and comments need to be submitted to the Shire by 4.00pm on the Tuesday prior to the meeting. The comments and questions need to relate to items that are on the Agenda, which is available for inspection the Friday prior to the meeting. Council and Officers will endeavour to answer any questions at the meeting. A summary of both the question and the response will be recorded in the Minutes.
Regrettably, the COVID-19 public health emergency has meant that Council business needs to be conducted in a slightly different way. This notwithstanding, the Shire is committed to continuing to be open, transparent and accountable to the community and there are many other ways that people can make contact with the Shire, other than attendance at monthly Council meetings.
Elected Members are available to contact individually, should you wish to discuss any Shire or Council related matters. Councillor contact details can be found on the Shire’s website at https://www.westonia.wa.gov.au/councillors.
Shire Officers can also be contacted by email, telephone or via the Shire website’s ‘Contact Us’ page.
For further information please contact Jasmine Geier, Manager of Corporate Services on telephone 90467063 or email admin@westonia.wa.gov.au