9.    Council’s  Meeting Process

Council and Corporate and Operations Committee meetings take place each month (excluding January) and a schedule of these and other Committee meetings can be obtained from Council.

The monthly meetings held by Council are to monitor management activities and to ensure that the affairs of the Council are being conducted in accordance with legislative mandate and Council objectives. The Council also monitors the performance of Council Organisations and Council Controlled Organisations.

There are three types of formal meetings:

• the initial meetings of Council, which occur immediately after the triennial elections, where all members are sworn in;
• ordinary meetings of Council and Committees. These are the scheduled meetings and are typically monthly;
• extraordinary meetings of Council and Committees. These are unscheduled meetings for which there is insufficient time to give the notice that is required for ordinary meetings.

In addition to formal meetings, the Council may meet informally from time to time for workshops. Council decisions cannot be made at workshops or any other informal meeting.

The Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA) set out the legal requirements for Council meetings.