Discretionary power: Campaspe Shire Council CEO, Pauline Gordon, has the power of accepting public questions of council by means other than in written form.
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Campaspe shire is considering a change to its public question time process by cutting “bureaucratic red-tape’’ and accepting ratepayer inquiries by email.
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The change, if passed by council, will give chief executive officer Pauline Gordon the power to decide to accept questions in other written forms.
Last night’s council meeting was expected to vote in favour of a sub-clause, which will allow questions to be submitted via email, instead of the previous requirement that questions “be received in writing on the prescribed form at council’s customer service centres or on council’s website’’.
Recent issues with questions being submitted by email instigated the recommendation by council’s governance officer to alter the wording of the regulations.
In a report to council it was explained that “if the governance rules were adhered to emails should not be accepted.”
Campape Shire has, however, taken into account that this strategy would “show a lack of empathy toward the community member who had shown interest in council’s business’’.
The report went on to say that by accepting questions in email form it would “promote transparency between the council and the community’’.
Customer service centre staff can assist people with lodging a public question time inquiry.
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