Council meetings are held in the Administration and Civic Centre on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, apart from January, November and December which may vary. Click here to view the meeting dates.
The Annual General Meeting of Electors is held in December and the date will be advertised in the local papers and on this website at least 14 days prior to the scheduled meeting.
No action should be taken on any item discussed at a Council meeting prior to written advice on the resolution of Council being received.
The agenda for the upcoming meeting is available in PDF format on the Town's website on Friday prior to the meeting. It can be found through the Agenda & Minutes link on the left hand side. A hard copy is available for reference in the Library and in the Administration & Civic Centre. Limited hard copies are available at the meeting.
In relation to Minutes of the most recent Council meeting, for your information Section 5.25(i) of the Local Government Act states:
"A local government is to ensure that unconfirmed minutes of each council and committee meeting are available for inspection by members of the public -
(a) in the case of a council meeting, within 10 business days after the meeting; and
(b) in the case of a committee meeting, within 5 business days after the meeting."
However, the Town of Vincent will endeavour to have the most recent Minutes available for download by close of business on the Friday following the meeting date.
Minutes of the latest meetings are available and can be found through the links at the Agendas & Minutes link on the left hand side. Hard copy versions are available in the library and Administration & Civic Centre.
The Town of Vincent Local Law Relating to Standing Orders prescribes the procedure for persons to ask questions or make public statements relating to a matter affecting the Town, either verbally or in writing, at a Council meeting.
Questions or statements made at an Ordinary Council meeting can relate to matters that affect the Town. Questions or statements made at a Special Meeting of the Council must only relate to the purpose for which the meeting has been called.
1. Shortly after the commencement of the meeting, the Presiding Member will ask members of the public to come forward to address the Council and to give their name, address and Agenda Item number (if known).
2. Public speaking time will be strictly limited to three (3) minutes per member of the public.
3. Members of the public are encouraged to keep their questions/statements brief to enable everyone who desires to ask a question or make a statement to have the opportunity to do so.
4. Public speaking time is declared closed when there are no further members of the public who wish to speak.
5. Questions/statements are to be directed to the Presiding Member and are to be made politely in good faith and are not to be framed in such a way as to reflect adversely or be defamatory on an Elected Member or Town Employee.
Please consider:
• All speakers should be clear and to the point, and speak through the Presiding Member at all times.
• Members of the public are not permitted to enter into debate with elected members or staff.
• Any correspondence received after the agenda is finalised will not be reflected in the staff report and will not be distributed to elected members by administration.
• No late documents may be brought into the Council Chamber on the day of the meeting for distribution to elected members.
• To minimise disruption during meetings, please ensure your mobile phone is turned off before entering the chamber.
• You may enter and leave the Chamber at any point during the meeting.
• The Administration & Civic Centre is a no smoking venue.
• Toilet facilities are available.
6. Where the Presiding Member is of the opinion that a member of the public is making a statement at a Council meeting, that does not affect the Town, he may ask the person speaking to promptly cease.
7. Questions/statements and any responses will be summarised and included in the Minutes of the Council meeting.
8. Where practicable, responses to questions will be provided at the meeting. Where the information is not available or the question cannot be answered, it will be “taken on notice” and a written response will be sent by the Chief Executive Officer to the person asking the question. A copy of the reply will be included in the Agenda of the next Ordinary meeting of the Council.
9. It is not intended that public speaking time should be used as a means to obtain information that would not be made available if it was sought from the Town’s records under Section 5.94 of the Local Government Act 1995 or the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1992. The CEO will advise the member of the public that the information may be sought in accordance with the FOI Act 1992.
All Ordinary and Special Council Meetings are electronically recorded (both visual and audio), except when the Council resolves to go behind closed doors:
- All recordings are retained as part of the Town's records in accordance with the General Disposal Authority for Local Government Records produced by the Public Records Office
- A copy of the recorded proceedings and/or a transcript of a particular section or all of a Council meeting is available in accordance with Policy 4.2.3 - Recording of Council Meetings and Access to Recorded Information.
Information on how to prepare and present a Petition to the Council and information on how to request a Special Meeting of Electors is available here.