Council Meetings

Scheduled Meetings of Council

Meetings of Council are held at 6.30 pm on the third Tuesday of the month (unless otherwise adopted) in the Council Chamber at the Civic Centre, corner of Lyttleton and Lloyd Streets, Castlemaine.

The dates of meetings of Council are advertised in Council's weekly column in the Midland Express each Tuesday.

Public Question Time

Council allows 30 minutes at the start of each Council Meeting for members of the public to ask questions of Council. If you wish to bring a petition or joint letter to Council it may be presented during public question time.

Guidelines for asking questions during Public Question Time can be found in the Governance Rules 2020.

Unscheduled Meetings of Council

Council may also call unscheduled meetings to address specific matters. Council will give public notice of the meeting in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2020.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Council Meetings are currently closed to the public; however, to ensure Local Government decision-making can continue and remains transparent, Council meetings are live streamed via YouTube. Search Mount Alexander Shire Council.

To raise a question or a statement at the Council meeting for Public Question Time, write to the Governance Team, Mount Alexander Shire Council, PO Box 185, Castlemaine 3450 VIC, or email governance@mountalexander.vic.gov.au by 12 noon on the day of the meeting.

Agendas are made available to the public by the close of business on the Thursday preceding the Meeting, both online as separate pdf documents for download and as hard copies from the Civic Centre.

Minutes are available by close of business on the Friday following the Meeting.

Once Minutes are confirmed the Agendas are removed from Council's website, as the full Agenda is available in the Minutes.

- A Special Meeting of Council will be held at 5.30pm on Tuesday 28 July to hear
public submissions on the Proposed Budget 2020-2021. This can be viewed via YouTube.

- A Special Meeting of Council will be held at 6pm on Tuesday 11 August 2020 - to hear public submissions on Local Law Review. This can be viewed via You Tube.

-A Special Meeting of Council will be held from 6.30pm on Tuesday 1 September 2020.
The purpose of the meeting is for Council in accordance with the Local Government Act 2020, to consider the adoption of the following items: Schedule 5 Council to Chief Executive Officer Instrument of Delegation; Schedule 6 Council to Staff Instrument of Delegation; Community Assets Committee Instrument of Delegations; Governance Rules (including the Election Period Policy); Public Transparency Policy; and Council Expenses Policy.
The meeting will be broadcast live to YouTube. Search Mount Alexander Shire Council.

Council has cancelled the Ordinary Meeting of Council planned for Tuesday 21 April in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Councillors decided to cancel the meeting given the requirement under the Local Government Act for Council to meet in person. They continue meet regularly via an online platform to receive staff updates and to discuss strategic matters.

Items on the April meeting agenda, including the proposed budget 2020/2021, will be tabled at subsequent meetings. The draft budget will then go on public display for community feedback. This follows the advice issued by the Minister for Local Government last week that councils have an extension to 31 August to adopt their budget.

Mayor Henderson said Councillors are still trying to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the community and what can realistically be achieved in the coming financial year

Due to the timing of the Local Government General Election, the next Council Meeting has been rescheduled to 6.30 pm on Tuesday 24 November 2020, in order to support to the incoming Council.

It will be broadcast live to YouTube. Search Mount Alexander Shire Council.

The Governance Rules 2020 adopted on 1 September 2020, outlines the rules relating to submitting petitions and joint letters to Council.

For a petition or joint letter to be accepted by Council, they must meet the following criteria:

(a) Be in legible and permanent writing;

(b) Be clear, and state the matter and action sought from Council on each page;

(c) Not be derogatory, defamatory or objectionable in language or nature;

(d) Not relate to matters outside the powers of Council; and

(e) Must include the full name, residential postcode and written or electronic signature of each petitioner and, as a minimum, must also contain the full property address of at least 10 petitioners who own property or reside in Mount Alexander Shire.

Council will acknowledge in a Scheduled Meeting, receipt of petitions and joint letters that are received during Public Question Time. Council will also acknowledge receipt of complying petitions and joint letters that have been received since the last Scheduled Meeting.

Unless otherwise resolved, a report that responds to an accepted petition or joint letter will be provided for Council’s consideration within two Scheduled Council Meetings.

If a petition or joint letter relates to a ‘statutory matter’, planning matter’ or any other matter for which there is a community engagement process already in place, the petition or joint letter will be acknowledged and the lead signatory advised that it will be considered and responded to in accordance with those processes.

A response to a petition or joint letter will be provided to the lead signatory only.

The following advice is provided to assist community members in lodging petitions and joint letters.

Lodging the petition

Council will not accept or display petitions that relate to other organisations.

Petitions must relate to issues that are of direct interest to Council.

They should not contain information that is offensive, relate to employment issues, involve contractual issues before Council, or be vague. Such petitions will be declined.

A petition should clearly state its request or matter, such as:

“We the undersigned residents and ratepayers of Mount Alexander Shire Council formally request Council to …” (outline request).

The petition or joint letter should nominate the key contact person for correspondence.

Ideally, petitions and joint letters should be lodged electronically via Council’s website at info@mountalexander.vic.gov.au. Otherwise a typed or clearly legible, hand written version is satisfactory.

Privacy
Petitions and joint letters, once tabled before Council, become public documents.

Deputations are made by community groups to bring to the attention of Councillors strategic matters or issues which align with Council's strategies defined in the Council Plan.

If you would like to make a Deputation to Councillors, please submit your request to Council. Councillors will consider your request for a deputation and you will be advised of the outcome.