By ALENA HIGGINS
DEPUTY mayor Ross Bartley says he is “disappointed” his fellow councillors adopted 11 policies en masse during last month’s general meeting, saying they deserved further scrutiny.
A request by Cr Vic Pennisi to vote on the policies individually was denied by CEO Andrew Roach as the motion to approve them in bulk had already been moved and seconded.
“I was disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to discuss them in front of the public,” Cr Bartley said.
“Given the content, I believe they deserved further scrutiny.”
Cr Bartley, who agrees with Cr Vic Pennisi that two statutory meetings per month is the best way to conduct business as a council in the region, said open decision-making was paramount.
“The true intent of local government and one of its prime objectives is to govern in absolute transparency in the most open way possible so everyone sees how you do it,” Cr Bartley said.
Councillors Bartley and Pennisi failed to attend the briefing sessions which discussed the changes, but maintain they reviewed the amendments by email.
The policies that were reviewed included the code of meeting practice policy, councillors’ code of conduct policy, recruitment and selection policy, parental leave policy, staff recognitions award, as well as others.
The process was undertaken in order to ensure the policies’ appropriateness to council’s operations, particularly in relation to updated legislation.
