IT appears likely that Nambucca Valley Council will change the timing and frequency of its meetings in the coming weeks, after Councillor Jane Smith brought the matter forward at last Thursday’s meeting.

Next week councillors will vote on a change from fortnightly Thursday evening meetings to monthly meetings on the fourth Wednesday at 2pm, with a public forum session to be held on the Tuesday evening at 5pm the day before the monthly meeting.

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Live-streamed meetings and a briefing session for councillors to be held at 4pm before the Tuesday public forum will also be discussed at the next Council meeting.

In October last year, NOTA reported that a decision to change the fortnightly meetings to a monthly Wednesday 2pm slot was deferred for six months to give the newly elected councillors time to consider their roles and whether a less busy monthly schedule could be accommodated.

General Manager Bede Spannagle suggested that benefits to Council would include a saving in terms of staffing while still fulfilling the minimum requirement that council meet ten times per year.

At the time, councillors Ballangarry, Jenvey, Jones and Simson were staunchly against the change, citing concerns that it would make meetings and the deliberations of councillors inaccessible for many in the community.

Last Thursday, Cr Smith moved a motion to bring forward the decision and found support in Mayor Lee and councillors Vance, Angel and McWilliam.

“It’s become evident that having monthly meetings is the best practice,” Cr Smith told the meeting.

The owner-manager of a busy restaurant in Nambucca Heads, Cr Smith also organises markets on a Thursday between 4-8pm opposite her business.

She argued that she was not trying to minimise her workload, suggesting that less frequent meetings would give councillors more time to consider all issues on the agenda.

“I assure you my request is not for me to work less, it’s for me to work smarter and better,” she said.

Cr Smith said holding the public forum on the Tuesday before the meeting would give councillors a better chance to understand issues on the following day’s agenda.

Cr Susan Jenvey spoke passionately against the proposed change.

“There has been no community consultation on the meeting time or frequency,” she countered.

“The public cannot access a 2pm meeting time,” she said, listing nurses and teachers among the occupations for whom a daytime meeting would be difficult to attend.

“So just to be able to say, having attended five meetings, that you understand the efficiency and that it’s not an efficient way to do business, I really beg to differ,” Cr Jenvey told Cr Smith, suggesting the Council defer its decision until the new Code of Meeting Practice, currently being prepared by the State Government, is released.

In response, Cr Smith argued that “a lot of the age demographic who come are retirees and they are able to come at 2pm”.

She also said live-streaming would enable more community members to see meetings; the suggested time of 5pm for Public Forum was accessible to all; and that this schedule for meetings was common practice in many councils.

Around 15, mostly grey-haired members of the public were present in the public gallery to witness the discussion.

Many appeared shocked by the comments.

NOTA asked the community for feedback on the issue on the Nambucca Valley Community Noticeboard social media group, with most respondents saying that meetings should stay as they are.

“A move to 2pm on a Wednesday would make Council meetings far less accessible, limit diverse perspectives and reduce transparency,” Benn Hopkins commented, pointing out that watching a livestream was “not the same as being there in person”.

“I think two meetings a month should be retained; certainly some issues should be attended to within a couple of weeks rather than a month,” said Greg Needham.

Nicole Murphy said that as councillors do not receive a full-time salary and usually need to work other paid jobs, Council meetings need to work around those responsibilities.

By Ned COWIE