A Date with Council

A few weeks ago, while driving home from work, I had an epiphany. It dawned on me that the Shire office can be described as the town’s parents. While raising their child they are not looking for friendship or approval but are much more focussed on what’s best for the child. They try their hardest to make the right decisions even if it results in their teenager slamming the door while yelling “I hate you”. This week I asked if I could cover an article on council, with it being the week that our new council would be sworn it. It was time for me to dig deeper into the mysterious world of local Wongan-Ballidu government!

As one of Australia's three spheres of government (Federal, State, Local) Local Government is the sphere that most closely affects the lives of citizens. Whether we live in cities, towns or country areas and regardless of whether we realise it or not, it touches almost all areas of our day to day life in a community. The Shire of Wongan-Ballidu is responsible for infrastructure and property services, including local roads, footpaths, drainage, waste collection and management provision of recreation facilities, such as parks, swimming pools and halls, building services, including inspections, licensing, certification and enforcement planning and development approval, administration of facilities, such as the airport and cemetery, parking facilities and street parking; cultural facilities and services, such as the library and community resource centre. Managing these services is a fairly large team of people that most of you are familiar with. It’s the people you meet when you pop into the Shire to pay your rates, or head down to the library to check out some books. It’s the works and garden crew who keep our town functional and beautiful. It’s a team made up of all types of personalities, merits and passions. Each with a different role but all working towards the same goal. Today we’re going to look at an integral part of the team that is very much behind the scenes. It’s a term we’ve all heard and used but how much do we actually know about the role of a councillor in our Shire and what they do in their role?

Council is a body of elected community members who are responsible for making the strategic decisions on behalf of their community. It is the role of the CEO and Shire staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the local government and to advise the council; carry out policies of the council; and implement decisions of the council. Our shire has 7 councillors which is usually determined by the size of a Shire or Local Government area. Anyone who is a resident of the Shire is eligible to become a councillor by self nomination with the Shire.

October saw the Shire have their first contested election since 2007. Like previous years, If the number of candidates had been equal to the number of vacancies, the candidates would have been elected unopposed. This years election came was due to 2 reasons. Firstly there was a spill which meant that the Shire made the decision to change the amount of seats from 9 to 7. This still wouldn’t have guaranteed an election if only 7 people had nominated however there were 11 nominations in total and so it was up to the community to choose their councillors. All residents who are registered with the West Australian Electoral Commission were illegible to vote and together with all council minutes and meetings, the results from the vote are public knowledge and can be seen below.

Council meet on the forth Wednesday of every month at 3pm unless advertised differently. Last week’s meeting included the swearing in of the new council, including President and Vice President. The monthly meetings are held in a room at the Shire know as Council Chambers. I have been it the room before but this was the first time I was there to attend a council meeting. The large room houses a circle of executive desks and chairs surrounded by walls filled with photos of previous presidents dating back to the 1966. Half the circle is home to the Shire Management team and Shire President Peter McNamara. The other half of the circle, facing the Shire team and President is where council take their seats.

Although the meeting is conducted in a formal manner with suits and proper attire being the dress code of the day, there is an informal atmosphere when I enter. Everyone is chatting away and it’s easy to see a rapport between the peers. With most the people in the room having been there a fair few years, it’s clear they’ve spent enough time together to have forged friendships. The formalities commence with the first item on the agenda which is the swearing in ceremony of the Councillors. David Hood, Freeman of the Shire of Wongan Ballidu and Justice of the Peace did the honour. He also took the time to congratulate each and every councillor for sitting there that day, “It’s a testament to yourselves, to be here after an election. To know that the people put you here through votes. I hope it’s a confidence boost when you’re making decisions on behalf of your community.” David said to the councillors. “I have been in council unopposed before and I couldn’t help thinking what would have happened if there had been a vote, would I have still got the seat?” After each member had been sworn in and said their oath, it was time for the annual drawing of seats which I can only explain as musical chairs. Names were thrown into a bowl and drawn out one at a time. Determining where in the circle each member will sit for the next year. Once everyone was settled in their spot it was business as usual.

Council meetings follow an agenda that typically covers everything from public question time and petitions to presentations and financial reports. The councillors are given the opportunity to go through each agenda point with a fine tooth comb before the meeting and that they do. Every financial year a budget is submitted by the managers and adopted by Council. This is a carefully considered process to ensure that the income the Shire receives from rate payers is spent wisely and to best benefit the community. As part of the Shire Team, I have come to realise that there is are common misconceptions in how local government is run and how our Shire in particular is run. A typical example is that the CEO and Shire management team answer to no one. That they set their own goals and budgets, move the goal posts whenever they see fit and can do so as they please. The second understandable error is that a councillor should be able to tell you why a tree was cut down on Wandoo Crescent or why the works crew have a registered day off this week. Both of these fallacies can be easily rectified with a simple explanation; It is Council’s job to set the policies and direction for the Shire. They are the big picture guys, who define the long term goals for the town. They then hand these objectives and targets over to Stewart Taylor - The CEO of the Shire who, together with his team, make the day to day decisions, within the parameters set by Council, to achieve the goals and targets that ensure our towns prosperity.

I challenge anyone who feels their rate money is not carefully budgeted and spent or anyone who has doubt in the Shire of Wongan - Ballidu to attend a monthly meeting or to have a chat to a councilor. In my first meeting I saw my manager, the works manager, the deputy and CEO of the Shire questioned over everything from money spent on the swimming pool refurbishment to whether or not we sourced local trades for a job recently done. It is councils job to question anything that seems out of place and seek clarification on any matters that might affect the big picture and my first impression of a council meeting is that we have 7 dedicated, diligent and passionate councillors who are where they are for the best interests of the community. It is a fitting coincidence that I am writing this article on the same day that I officially become a rate payer and I can confidently say I count myself lucky to have the team we do working for the better of the community.