6.1 THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995

The Local Government Act prescribes the parameters within which the City must function.

6.2 THE MAYOR

The Mayor is the City’s Civic Leader, presides at all meetings of the Council and in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer signs every Deed, Conveyance, Agreement and Contract under the Common Seal of the Council.

The Mayoral position has special emergency powers for decision and direction to the Chief Executive Officer.

6.3 THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The day-to-day management of the City rests with the Chief Executive Officer. Under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer, the staff act on the Council decisions by developing and implementing policies and resolutions.

6.4 STANDING ORDERS

The Standing Orders Local Laws relating to the Conduct of Proceedings of the Business of the Council, known as the “Standing Orders”, governs the proceedings of the Council and Committee meetings. In governing the proceedings of a meeting, the Local Law specifically details issues such as the order of business at Council meetings, conduct of the meetings with regard to determinations by the Chairperson, rules of debate, voting and amendments and various miscellaneous matters.

6.5 COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL

To enable the Council to conduct its business more effectively, the Council has recently moved to an Agenda Forum / Council structure for the way it conducts its meetings.

This has resulted in the abolishment of the Community & Technical Services Committee and the Development & Neighbourhood Amenity Committees, with these being replaced with an Agenda Forum.

The Agenda Forum allows Elected Members to become more informed on matters prior to formal consideration at the Ordinary Meeting of Council. The forums encourage greater open dialogue between Elected Members, Officers and members of the public, and allow Elected Members to gain maximum knowledge and understanding of issues prior to presentation at the Ordinary Meetings of Council.

View Meetings Structure and Meeting Procedures

6.6 POLICIES OF THE COUNCIL

In order to provide guidance for the Officers of the City, the Council adopts policies which are included in the Policy Manual and provide the basis for decision making.

The Policy Manual includes policies on Administration, Building, Community Services, Council Members, Engineering, Finance, Health, Human Resources, Libraries, Parks and Reserves, Planning and Recreation.

6.7 DELEGATED AUTHORITY

The Chief Executive Officer has Delegated Authority from the Council to make decisions on a number of specified administrative and policy matters. Certain delegations have been on-delegated to senior members of staff. All delegations are listed in a Register and are reviewed annually by the Council.

6.8 LOCAL LAWS

 Local Laws are adopted by the Council to ensure that such things as reserves and parking facilities in the City of Melville are maintained for all residents of the City to utilise. All Local Laws for the City of Melville are contained in the Local Laws Register.

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