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May 24, 2016
Your independent community newspaper - Ph: 4325 7369
Issue 92
Central Coast Council to hold its first public meeting he first meeting of the new Central Coast Council is to be an Extraordinary Meeting and it will be held at the Wyong Civic Centre on Wednesday, May 25 at 5:00pm.
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The Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 that dissolved Gosford and Wyong Councils and created the new Central Coast Council did not provide detail on how meetings would be conducted during the administration period. In announcing the first meeting, a media release from the Central Coast Council said: “Newly appointed administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, will preside over the first Central Coast Council meeting on Wednesday 25 May.” Mr Reynolds said he was pleased and privileged to take on the role of administrator of one of the largest councils in Australia. “We will be managing an annual budget of $800 million and over $8 billion in assets for over 331,000 residents, a huge challenge, but one that staff and myself are certainly up for. “It is an exciting time to be here, the Central Coast has now been established as a region in its own right and can only go from strength to
The former Wyong Council chamber will be the venue for the first meeting of the new Central Coast Council on May 25
strength. “Staff have been working hard on the transition to one council and residents should be assured that the services they expect from their local council will not only be continued but will be enhanced. “I look forward to getting out and about and learning as much about the area as I can as soon as possible,” he said. A statement from the Central Coast Council said the public could attend the meeting. Wyong Regional Chronicle asked the Central Coast Council to explain the format the meeting would take, given that the former mayors of Wyong and Gosford Council and all elected councillors
were dismissed on May 12 and replaced with an administrator. The new council’s communications team said the administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, would perform the role of mayor and councillors by considering reports from directors. The administrator may ask questions of the relevant director in relation to a report or recommendation. Members of the public can still apply to address the meeting about a particular item. At the end of the discussion of an agenda item, the administrator will make a decision as to whether to approve, amend, defer or refuse a report’s recommendation. A business paper for
the Extraordinary Council meeting is available on both the former Wyong Council and Gosford Council websites. Items to be discussed at the meeting include administrative and governance matters such as: a code of conduct and related matters; committees of the former Gosford and Wyong Councils; interim salary arrangement for council; code of meeting practice and location of council meetings; and, the interim organisational structure for the new council. According to the business paper, the meeting will also make determinations in relation to: a quarterly budget review for the former Gosford Council; determination of water,
sewerage and stormwater drainage fees and charges for 2016-17 in respect to the former Gosford Local Government Area; and the proposed transfer of land at Kangy Angy to Transport NSW. Meetings of the new Central Coast Council will be held on the second and fourth Wednesday of most months and will alternate between the chambers at Wyong and Gosford. The Wyong meeting will be held on the fourth Wednesday of each month and the meetings held on the second Wednesday of the month will be located in Gosford. The new council is also expected to agree that all future meetings will be audio recorded and, in the future, podcasting of meetings will also be considered. The former Wyong Council did record its meetings; Gosford Council did not. Under the Proclamation which dismissed the former councils and created the new Central Coast Council on May 12, clause eight stated that the code of meeting practice of the former Wyong Council was to be the new council’s code. However, the former Wyong code would have meant that all meetings of the new Central Coast Council would have been held in Wyong, hence amendments were
required. An amended code of meeting practice is also likely to go on public exhibition for 28 days and submissions can be made for at least 42 days from the date the draft code goes on exhibition. Alternating the meeting venue between Gosford and Wyong: “Will provide the public with more equitable access to and participation in council meetings,” a report from the interim general manager, Mr Rob Noble, to the May 25 meeting said. Other amendments to be made to the code of meeting practice were the inclusion of the definition of an administrator to clarify to the community and staff how the code applies to the administrator, and clarification of meeting venues to specify addresses. A further report will be provided to council on July 27 to allow the council to consider submissions and whether to adopt the amended code. Media release, May 17, 2016 Business paper, May 25, 2016 Extraordinary Council Meeting Agenda item 3.7, May 25, 2016 Central Coast Council extraordinary meeting Media statement, May 17, 2016 Central Coast Council media Jackie Pearson, journalist
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