Mayor and Deputy to lead delegation to conference

Seven Central Coast councillors with voting rights will attend the annual NSW Local Government conference in November.

Council has submitted an Urgency Motion to be debated at the conference.

Two Liberal, three Labor, one Independent councillor and the mayor will make up the seven after Cr Belinda Neal questioned the original line-up which featured only two Labor councillors.

The seven voting delegates will be John McNamara (Liberal), Doug Eaton (Independent Liberal), Mayor Lawrie McKinna (Team Central Coast), Corinne Lamont (Independent), and three Labor candidates Neal, Kyle MacGregor and Margot Castles.

Two of the delegation are first-time councillors: Castles and Lamont.

Other councillors may attend but they will not have the right to vote on Motions put forward at the conference being held on November 17-19 at Tamworth.

The new councillors at their first meeting on October 8 voted to submit an Urgency Motion for debate at the conference about the Performance Improvement Order (PIO) under which the council is operating.

NSW Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig imposed the Order during the election campaign to ensure the councillors were confined in their decisions in the first 12 months of their four-year tenure.

Among other restrictions, the PIO requires Council to “obtain concurrence of the Office of Local Government to make major staffing decisions” including the termination of the CEO, the restructure of the organisation, or budget allocations.

The conference is an opportunity for the Coast to gain support from the 128 NSW Councils to question the PIO.

Central Coast is one of three councils emerging from periods of administration with PIOs in place.

Deputy Mayor Doug Eaton led the call at the October 8 meeting, the first meeting of the new council, to send an Urgency Motion to the conference condemning the PIO and calling on the Minister to withdraw it. 

His suggestion was adopted along with Council seeking legal advice on the use of the PIO.

Funds have been allocated in the budget to reimburse the seven voting delegates the cost of registration fees, travel, accommodation, meals not covered by the conference registration, and the cost of the official conference dinner for an accompanying person of a councillor. 

While it is open to a non-voting councillor to attend the conference as an observer, approval to attend is subject to a written request to the CEO as outlined in the Councillor Expenses and Facilities Policy. 

The next ordinary meeting of the new council is scheduled for Tuesday, October 29.