Mayor vote, Clarence Way, customer service to be discussed at Kyogle Council meeting
February 14, 2022
Susanna Freymark
This is a summary of Kyogle Council’s agenda for tonight’s 5pm meeting. To see the full agenda with notes, go here.
Voting for a mayor
Councillor Janet Wilson wants the council to be provided with a report outlining the options, requirements, costs and timeframe for the community to decide on a popularly elected mayor at future elections.
Council had previously received information about this matter at a workshop in September last year and the question has been asked in community surveys.
Community sentiment is changing and it is timely to revisit this topic to allow the community to provide council with an updated community perspective.
Clarence Way
Councillor Kylie Thomas wants a detailed report on rectification works on the Clarence Way between Woodenbong and Urbenville as soon as investigations are completed.
Council has been doing a major upgrade of the Clarence Way between the local government boundary near Urbenville through to Woodenbong since mid-2021.
Construction works on the site have been paused because of an issue with the final layer of pavement material. Council is working closely with its suppliers and contractors to verify the exact nature of the issue and the treatment required.
Part of the discussion on Clarence Way will take place at a different meeting as it deals with confidential, commercial information about suppliers. This will not be an open, public meeting.
Customer service at council
Councillor Tom Cooper wants to improve the council’s customer service.
Kyogle Council has a customer services policy that was reviewed back in 2013.
Included in this policy are ways customer service is measured:
• Answering phone calls within four rings
• Acknowledging written correspondence within five working days (including e-mails)
• Investigating or attending to customer requests within five days
• Respond to telephone messages within one business day
• Provide a response to written correspondence within ten working days if a response is required
To be discussed for inclusion is:
• The current policy does not provide a clear definition to distinguish a request for service from a complaint.
A revised customer service policy draft will be given formal consideration later this year.
Climate change group
Councillor Maggie May will give a report from the Climate Change Working Group. John Redmayne and Robyn Lucienne are the two new community members to join the group.
