Council

Council agenda items and decisions

Contact details for councillors

Meeting dates

News

• Blue Mountains City Council gets 1.3 million in infrastructure grants
  This is part of a federal government plan to stimulate the economy.
  The money must be spent by September 2009.

Resources

• Councillor induction - from BMCC website
• Lobbying local government councillors, ICAC, August 2006

Local Government Association of NSW annual conference

The Local Government Association of NSW is holding its annual conference in Broken Hill from 25-29 October in Broken Hill.

You can find more information on their website at:
http://www.lgsa-plus.net.au/www/html/2544-lga-conference-2008.asp
They have said registrations should be submitted by 13 October.

The Blue Mountains Council is entitled to 4 delegates. They can also send nonvoting observers.

The procedure usually is for the General Manager to place an item on the agenda to decide who the delegates are.
See: 2007-08-07 Council Meeting- Minutes (PDF 91 KB) Item 4

Support for councillors

The Blue Mountains City Council provides its councillors with some support to help them do their job:

• Computer - a choice of a desktop or notebook model
• Internet access to the Council computer network, where Council documents are stored.
• Phone line - to provide a separate number for Council business
• Photocopier
• Fax machine
• A Blackberry which works as a mobile phone and as a way to access emails
  • They might provide a mobile phone number.
• A desk and filing cabinet
• A stipend of around 1200/month
• A travel allowance

Seating arrangement in the Council Chamber

The councillors currently sit with their backs to the audience.

It apparently doesn't have to be this way.

The councillors used to be seated in a semicircle, facing the audience, with the Mayor in the middle.

If the councillors wish, they can probably ask council staff to change the seating arrangement.

Some practicalities need to be looked at, such as where the person addressing Council should stand, and the location of the projection screen, which is used to display the business papers.

Computer use in the Council chamber

A notebook computer could be of assistance to a councillor during a council meeting.
They can be used to look at council documents, and emails, which can be stored on the hard drive.
They can also be used to access the internet, by plugging in a wireless modem.
And they can be used to access to council computer network, which is accessed using the internet and a password.

Council staff have said that computers in the chamber aren't allowed, because they might interfere with the electronic equipment.
But the reporter from the Gazette has in the past brought a computer, and the council staff sometimes bring theirs, and there don't seem to be any problems.
Council staff have also said that computers could be used to record the meeting, but the councillors should be trusted not to do this.