COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION POLICY - Active Community Team 1999
The Active Community Team believes that local government is uniquely placed to implement a system of decision making which can be a model for a truly civil society. We support and will actively promote the use of a range of processes to lift democratic involvement, participation, direct decision making and delegated, representative decision making. We believe that decision making should be devolved to and taken as close as possible to the community involved.
In addition to their roles and rights of individuals and neighbourhood committees as they are currently constituted, the A.C.T. will strive for the following extensions of participation and decision making by neighbourhood committees and citizens of Wollongong.
1. Delegated, representative decision making
1.1 In the formal electoral process at a city wide level, the Active Community Team believes that multiple member constituencies based on historic, cultural and community ties (wards) are the most effective way for communities to be represented in the final, format decision making processes of Council.
1.2 We believe that councillor representation for each ward should be elected on a proportional basis to better reflect the diversity of character and make up within each ward.
1.3 We will work to convince the state government to allow Wollongong City Council to return to a system of 5 wards, each with three councillors and the retention of a popularly elected mayor. We believe that the current method of election and vote counting is far from ideal and we will work for the return of three member wards.
1.4 The A.C.T. supports the electronic recording of Councillor's votes on each issue.
1.5 The A.C.T believes in and wilt work for the creation of a Youth Council, comprised of senior high school students, the young employed and unemployed to advise and recommend to Council on matters of youth affairs and policy. A.C.T. will support the trialling of non-compulsory voting for 16 year old residents within the city.
2. Participatory Decision making
Reforming the Neighbourhood Committee system
2.1 The A.C.T. believes that the nature, composition and role of Neighbourhood Committees with an elected executive should be formally recognised in the decision making structures of the Council. Wollongong Council's policy on the creation, role and resourcing of Neighbourhood Committees is critical in further developing genuine involvement and participation and empowerment of communities to plan, organise and develop programs and priorities for action within their communities.
2.2 These committees should be the community's formal peak committee with which the Council should communicate, liaise and take account of in planning for, resourcing and delivering services to each community.
2.3 Neighbourhood Committees should have the right to formally call councillors to attend the regular meetings or an extraordinary meeting of that committee.
2.4 Neighbourhood committees will be given the power to request that the Council hold either an on-site meeting or an Informal Planning conference in relation to a particular development application.
2.5 Neighbourhood committees need to be funded and resourced to a level which provides all information relevant to decision making. The A.C.T. will ensure that each Neighbourhood Committee will be provided with:
· a permanent storage and office space for neighbourhood committee resources, preferably located at the venue of neighbourhood committee meetings
· an increased level of secretarial support including a fax machine, phone, photocopier
· an on line link with Council computer system
· funding and or production of 6 community newsletters per year
· prominent notice boards in each suburb, town or community.
These facilities should also be made available for and accessible to other community groups, e.g. bushcare, scouts, neighbourhood watch, etc. The content of the newsletters and notice boards will be at the discretion of the Neighbourhood Committee Executive provided that the content is in the community interest, legal and does not constitute political advocacy.
2.6 Three monthly forums will be held between the Executives of Neighbourhood Committees, senior council staff and councillors. One of these will be at the stage of formulation of the Corporate Plan.
2.7 Neighbourhood Committees need to be encouraged to, skilled in and be able to initiate positive policies and plans for community improvements. The A.C.T. will formally move to empower neighbourhood committees to be able to submit recommendations to Council and committees for their consideration and be entitled to have them debated and deliberated upon by the Council
2.8 Neighbourhood Committees will be the key community consultative and decision making group in a newly formulated Neighbourhood Planning or Precinct Planning Scheme. The preferred model is based on that of the City of Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
3 Openness, Accessibility and accountability
3.1 At the council level, the A.C.T. supports open committee and Council meetings, with open deliberation of all matters with the exception of personnel, legal issues and actual commercially privileged information.
3.2 The A.C.T. will dedicate the first 20 minutes of each council meeting to representations from the community. This public access session will provide for individual petitioners, group submissions, grievances and policy suggestions.
3.3 The A.C.T. will move to have Council policies, business papers and development applications available on Council's internee site.
3.4 The A.C.T. will ensure the Council implements a policy of open access to all documents subject to exclusions on the basis of commercial privacy and sensitivity, private matters. All files will be open to public perusal. Inspection of these should be subject to reasonable charges for Council officer time for supervision and administration and copying.
4 A Wollongong Council Ombudsman
4.1 The A.C.T. will pursue the creation of the position of Wollongong Council ombudsman, who will investigate claims by citizens with grievances about their dealings with any Council officer, department or Councillor.
4.2 The ombudsman shall be given all necessary and reasonable claims to investigate, research and report findings directly to the elected Councillors. The position must be at arms length from the Council administration and will not investigate claims made by Councillors.
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Authorised : Cr Kerrie Christian - Active Community Team - ph - 0408 115 099
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