PROCEDURE AT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS

Taupo Times, Volume IV, Issue 183, 29 July 1955, Page 5

PROCEDURE AT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS

At the Borough Council meeting on Wednesday, July 20, Cr K. E. Young, following confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting, said that he thqught the Council minutes were usually too brief, and that they should be written up more fully. If matters covered in . the present minutes had to be referred to at a later date it would often fequire a perusal of correspondenee before the purport of the minutes was apparent. He also thought that matters arising out of the minutes should be discussed following confirmation of the minutes, not lafer in general business. This would ensure that matters dealt with at a prfevious meeting were not so likely to be forgotten, as easily "happened if they were not referred to when the minutes were before the council for confirmation. , N.Z. Standing Orders Cr Currie cbncurred. The Mayor, Mr J. E. Story, said that matters arising from the minutes could always be brought up as suggested. He went on to ref er to procedure in general and suggested the adoption of JJew! Zealand Standard Code of Standing Orders for Municipalities, for the regulation of council meetings^ The code had. recently been adopted by the Rotorua Borough Council, and he suggested that copies be procured for the information of councillors. The code referred to by the Mayor was formulated by the general bylaws ^ectional committee of the Standards Institute, comprising nominees from the Municipal Association, the Counties' Association, the Inst'itute of Town Clerks and Government departments, who also consulted the Press Association. It contains 124 sections covering all matters of procedure from the installation of a council to the exclusion of noisy or intoxicated members of the public and the restriction of offensive language. Under the code a time-saving provisiofi is the omission of "general business" from the order paper. Any council member with a matter to be dealt with must frame it as a noticei ^ of motion and hand it to the town clerk thfee clear days before the meeting.This procedure can only be overruled by the Mayor, who can declare a subject a matter of urgency, thereby permitting the council to discuss it. Another time-saver is . limitation of the Tiumber of speakers in a deputation to two, and limiting each to 10 minutes, but as the Taupo Borough Council only occasionally receives deputations, the provision is of little importance. Emergency Meetings The Standard Code provides for the calling of emergency meetings of tte council at short notice by the town clerk on the written authority of the Mayor or of three councillors. The new code makes specific provision for the sending of notices of all ordinary, special and emergency meetings to accredited representatives of local newspapers. No meeting of the council shall extend beyond 11.30 p.m. except by resolution of the council, runs another section of the code. Three Days" Notice The notice of application for hearing of a deputation is increased from 48 hours to three clear days. The new code is stiffer on nervous councillors anxious to prepare their speeches well. It provides that no one may read a speech apart from refreshing his memory' with notes. The time limit remains at 15 minutes. In Taupo, as on most local bodies, business usually takes the form of controlled discussion, rather than of speech-making from notes. All Open to Public The new code opens all meetings of the full council to the public, with the reservation that the Gouncil may exclude the public if matters are considered unsuitable for general information. The old code admitted the public to ordinary meetings only.