Kyogle Council meeting: The one where we love graphs

I’ll be at the Kyogle Council meeting every month so you don’t have to be.

In these meetings, there are motions, voting, ‘seconded by’, schedules and reports — a lot of times a decision is made to make a decision at a later date or after a report is done. It is a council procedure thing.

Each month I will attempt to distil the main aspects of the meeting without the local government lingo.

The full recording of the meeting will be available on the Kyogle Council website by the end of the week for those who want the full-blown account.

Here we go

Kyogle Council Meeting February: The One where we love graphs

In the Council Chambers, the recording is ready to roll at exactly 5pm, the meeting begins. The mayor Kylie Thomas chairs the meeting.

Voting for our mayor:

In 2009, 78% of people in a community survey said they wanted to elect their mayor.

Tonight, Councillor Janet Wilson asked for report from council staff on the logistics, timeframe and cost of having a popularly elected mayor.

“It will become a public document people can read. It invites residents to have a say in something they believe is important,” she said.

All those in favour? The majority of councillors agreed with what Ms Wilson said. Councillor Tom Cooper did not.

Clarence Way and that crumbling top layer

Mayor Kylie Thomas asked for a report about Clarence Way to be presented as soon as investigations into the poor quality of the final layer of road are complete.

General manager Graham Kennett said the report would be available by the March or April meeting.

Later in the meeting, everyone had to leave while councillors and staff confidentially discussed the state of the road between Urbenville and Woodenbong. So obviously, I can’t tell you any more about the road and who is responsible or when it will be fixed.

I, like you, will have to wait for the report.    

Customer Service

What do you think of council’s customer service? Cr Tom Cooper thinks it could be better.

He had a phone call from a woman who wanted advice from the council about a culvert. She had contacted council last March and was still waiting for a response.

Cr Cooper wanted the council to look at the quality of customer service in neighbouring councils.

There was a discussion about who is responsible, policies and other stuff.

The outcome was another report to come and revision of council’s customer service.

Cr Cooper was passionate about the topic.

“Our customer service is the main thing we are. I see no mission statement on this. We don’t know where we are and what we do,” he said.

Climate action

Cr Wilson was keen to see the Climate Change Working Group provide council with some practical steps.

Cr Danielle Mulholland asked why there was such a turnover of people in the working group.

Cr Maggie May is in the working group and she answered both questions.

The group already had a shade program, and a motion before council by Ms Mulholland on charging electric cars.

Cr May would share the working group minutes at the next council meeting.

Changes to the group were because of time, travel and personal reasons, she said.

Toonumbar Dam Retreat

GM Kennett gave a Toonumbar update.

He is meeting with Water NSW which owns the land and cabins, on Thursday, February 17.

Work at the Toonumbar Dam Retreat will start in the next few months and will be finished by Christmas.

Then the council will seek expressions of interest from the community to see who could run the retreat.

The budget

There was a quarterly report on the budget. Check out the detailed report for yourself if numbers are your thing.

Cr Cooper asked for more graphs to show the state of the budget.

“I love graphs,” he said.

“I absolutely love graphs. I could look at them all day.”

It was the only light-hearted (brief) moment in a tense meeting.

Village projects

Cr May asked council’s Chris White about the $15,000 Summer Nights funding

There would be three events in three villages, Mr White said.

On March 26, there would be a lighting up of buildings in Bonalbo

On April 9, money would go toward the Bridge festival in Tabulam

The event in Mallanganee was yet to be decided by the Mallanganee Progress Association.

Flying foxes

Councillor James Murray asked about the Flying Fox Rehabilitation Grant.

GM Kennett said the plan of attack was to revive the creek north of the caravan park so the flying foxes would naturally migrate there.

That’s a wrap from me. Until next council meeting.

PS. There was no rally outside the council chambers before the meeting despite reports that there would be.