Council business

Councillors

Kiama have nine Councillors who are elected each four years by residents and ratepayers of the Municipality. Elections for the Mayor are held annually among the Councillors.

View details of current Councillors and past Councillors.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) provides guidelines about lobbying councillors. More information is available in the ICAC's “tips sheet”.

Council Meetings

Council meets at 5pm on the third Tuesday of each month. Dates and details of Council meetings are available to the public.The General Manager, Directors, a number of Managers and Employees also attend the meetings where important business about the Municipality is discussed.

Council meetings are generally open to the public and the press, however some items are considered confidential and discussed in a “closed” session”. View more information about how confidential items are managed at Council meetings.

The Local Government Act prescribes conditions for public access to Council meetings. Council has a Code of Meeting Practice to outline meeting protocols.

Comprehensive agendas for the meeting, called “Business Papers” are available to members of the public.

Committees

Council has a range of Committees that assist in the decision making process and Councillors often represent Council on other committees.

Governance

Council is proud of its strong reputation in the community. We have a number of policies and procedures that outline our expectations so that we can maintain this hard-earned reputation. These are available to the public and include:

• Code of Conduct which applies to all Councillors, staff and delegates of Council
  
  
• Code of Meeting Practice



• Declaration of Interest which details how Councillors should declare their “interest”
  
  Councillors and designated staff are required to lodge pecuniary interest returns on their appointment and annually thereafter. You are able to view these returns by arrangement with Council's Customer Service Desk by calling 4232 0471.
  
  Under the Local Government Act the General Manager is required to maintain a register of all current donations and expenditure declarations lodged by Councillors with the Election Funding Authority of NSW. These records are publically available.



• Details about when the Council or General Manager are able to delegate responsibility



• Information about issues discussed in closed meetings how to run closed Council meetings



• Payment of Expenses and Provision of Facilities (pdf 81 KB) for Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors



• Privacy Management Plan (pdf 58 KB)which details the measures Council takes to protect personal and health information and for the privacy of individuals



• Public Access to Council Meeting which explains how members of the public are able to access Council meetings



• Statement of Business Ethics which summarises the key aspects of the Code of Conduct that apply to people working with Council



• Statement of Values which described the key principles that underpin Council operations

The Division of Local Government conducts reviews of councils to assist with continuous improvement. Kiama Council's last review was conducted in 2006 (pdf 466 KB).

Policies and Management Plans

Council's Policies and Management Plans are available to the public.