Improving Council meetings

The efficient and effective functioning of Council meetings is important.  The community expects nothing less.

Upon assuming the mayoralty again in May 2016, I set about improving councillor and public gallery behaviour at our Council meetings.

Prior to my election, our meetings had become dysfunctional and unpleasant.  Repetitive Points of Order were used to frustrate proceedings, injections from some councillors and people in the Public Gallery were common and finishing times were extending long past midnight.

Upon being elected as mayor, I made it clear that I wanted to make improving our dysfunctional meetings my immediate priority.

The following are the reforms which I implemented and which each contributed to the immediate and sustained improvement of councillor performance in the Council Chamber and the return to efficient functioning of our meetings:

1. The appointment of an independent Governance and Behaviour Monitor to oversee performance (including to impartially review my performance as chair);
2. The adoption of Supplementary Standing Orders to provide the most comprehensive meeting procedures in Victorian local government;
3. Disincentivising the repetitive and belligerent use of Points of Order and Procedural Motions to prolong meetings and detract from debating the real issues of substance;
4. A strengthened Councillor Code of Conduct;
5. Introducing an improved audio system for Council meetings to allow for better control of meetings by the chairperson;
6. Setting clear boundaries on the finishing times for Council meetings and making meetings efficient; and
7. Holding all councillors accountable for their attendances at Council meetings.

These reforms have fixed the previous dysfunction and disorder.

Council meetings are now efficiently and effectively conducted with debate free-flowing but with no irrelevant Points of Order, heckling or interjections.

The substantial improvement in the conduct of our meetings can be observed in the monthly reports from the independent Governance and Behaviour Monitor who I recommended to Council be appointed as an accountability measure through to the October elections.