MCC Council Meeting of 12 January 2022 BLOG #

Election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor plus External Council Committees

Swearing in

All of the Councillors have been sworn in by 12 January 2022 to be our representatives until September 2024.

Office Holders

From the 11 elected Councillors nominations were sought for the position of:

The position of Mayor received 3 nominations and in open Council . Cr C Pontin was elected to hold office until September 2023. Nominated Cr’s Bell, Epov, Pontin,

The position of Deputy Mayor received 2 nominations and in open Council. Cr Tickle was elected to hold office until September 2023. Nominated Cr’s Bell, Tickle.

External Committees

Those elected to serve on;

1 Hunter Joint Organisation (JO) = 1

Mayor always as is a voting Director role. With GM attending in a non voting capacity.

Mayor Cr C Pontin

2. Mid North Weight of Loads Group = 1

Nil Councillor “nil as Council staff do so well, is technical/operational and leave to officers”

3. Arts Mid North Coast = 1

Cr Miller

Paul De Szell, Director Livable Communities Alternate

4. Bushfire Management Committee = 1

Cr Tickle

Cr Sandilands Alternate

5. NSW RFS District Liaison Committee = 1

Cr Sandilands

Cr Tickle Alternate

6. NSW Public Libraries Association = 1

Cr West

Cr D Smith Alternative

7. Hunter Regional Weeds Committee = 1

Cr D Smith

Cr K Smith Alternative

8. Joint Regional Planning Panels = 2

Cr West and Cr Tickle

Cr Bell Alternative

9. Local Traffic Committee = 1

Cr Fowler

Cr Howard Alternative

10. Manning Valley Liquor Consultative Committee = 1

Cr Fowler

Cr Miller Alternative

11. Stroud Heritage Conservation Inc (SHCI) = 1 or an officer

Cr Sandilands

12. Duralie Coal Mine Community Consultative Committee = 2

Cr Pontin and Cr K Smith

13. Stratford Coal Mine Community Consultative Committee = 1

Cr K Smith

Cr Pontin Alternative

14. Gloucester Exploration Project Community Consultative Committee – Gloucester Resources Limited (GRL) = 1

Cr K Smith

15. Association of Mining and Energy Related Councils (MERC) = 1

Cr K Smith

The numbers to the side of Committee name equals the number able to be appointed by MCC. The Agenda did not cover which of the external committees allowed alternative Councillor to be appointed. There are up to 17 external committee roles to fill. Council will provide representation of 16 to the groups. I look forward to seeing the minutes of all 15 external appointed bodies. The agenda did not state if any of these external groups were paid positions. There are a couple of bodies that would mean an additional skill, knowledge set and decision making. It is time to consider the appropriate remuneration to Councillors. This topic highlights that the work of a Councillor is not just in the boundary of the LGA. I would have liked the agenda to state an estimated cost of being on these bodies as it would already be in the budget. The agenda stated that there will be no financial implications due to the appointments. The agenda did not state if any of these groups would have other meetings or conferences flowing on from the membership of these groups.

Internal Committees

We await the appointment to the (Internal) Committees of Council. I think that this new Council of December 2021 has an opportunity to conduct a full review of the internal process and the advice they receive and how they receive it. What committees does MCC consider necessary to move this LG forward?

Next Council Meeting 2 February 2022 at 2Pm. Venue 2 Biripi Way, South Taree

12/01/22