Council Minutes - Section C: Notice of Motion - 24 March 2020
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Notices of Motion tabled at the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 24 March 2020 which was held at the Council Conference and Reception Centre in City Hall, 57 Little Malop Street, Geelong.
The COVID-19 Pandemic we are now all suffering from within the City of Greater Geelong is a once in a lifetime event and will have significant impact on our community and our economy.
Council acknowledges we have limited financial capacity to develop supports for our community and economy, however Council acknowledges that is an unprecedented crisis and the community is looking and demanding for local leadership on this issue.
Based on advice and information received to date, we understand the COVID-19 pandemic life cycle to be a minimum of six months with community and economic impact likely to be much longer than this.
This motion calls on Council to work with the CEO and develop two support packages for Geelong: one for the remainder of the 2019-20 financial year and a separate package for the 2020-21 financial year.
These packages are unfunded in financial forecasts or future budgets, therefore Council is considering a fiscal policy of deficit to fund these support packages for our local community and local economy.
While Council does not have a financial ceiling for the cost of the packages, we do believe these packages should neither impact on the longer-term financial sustainability of the City of Greater Geelong nor create an unsustainable burden for current and future rate payers.
We will lobby and work with the State and Federal Government for economic stimulus support from these larger and more financial able tiers of government. The local packages we intend to develop are additional to and to supplement any support from the State and Federal Government.
Councillor Asher moved, Councillor Aitken seconded -
That Council:
Recognises that the COVID-19 Pandemic is a one-in-100 year event that will have significant and widespread community and economic impacts within the City of Greater Geelong;
Calls for an immediate review lead by all Councillors and the CEO to develop:
A short-term package of Community and Economic Supports to be funded in the 2019-20 financial year; and
A medium to longer-term package of Community and Economic Supports to be funded in the 2020-21 financial year.
In addition to the above reviews, endorse the following immediate support measures:
Development of a Council COVID-19 financial hardship policy including consideration of rates;
Waiver of rent/fees for community and sporting groups within City owned land/grounds and buildings for six months from 1 March 2020;
Reduction of rent by 50% for eligible commercial tenants in City buildings or on City land for or six months from 1 March 2020;
Refund of Alfresco Dining permit fees for 12 months;
Refund of A frame permit fees for 12 months;
Refund of food premises registration fees for three months of the 2019-20 financial year;
Refund of health premises fees for three months of the 2019-20 financial year;
Development of Business Support Portal for local businesses;
Development of Small Business Expert Support Program utilising local businesses;
Geelong Business Concierge Service Expansion to support business program development; and
Free casual on and off street parking in Central Geelong until 30 June 2020.
That the development of the final 2019-20 Community and Economic Support Package must be completed and presented to Council no later than the April 2020 Council Meeting; and
That the development of the final 2020-21 Community and Economic Support Package must be completed by June 2020.
Carried.
On 12 November 2019, Council adopted the revised Mayor and Councillors’ Media Engagement Policy (the Policy). The Policy sets guidelines for media engagement and public speaking roles undertaken by the Mayor and Councillors whilst recognising the Mayor is the Council’s principal spokesperson.
The Policy provides guidelines for the use and editorial rights of social media for the Mayoral accounts as well as the City of Greater Geelong’s corporate accounts.
Social media is now the most used method of communicating directly with the community in real time, and it is becoming more important not only to share Council and City stories via social media, but also to address inaccurate and misleading comments made in relation to Council and City matters that are posted on key local social media accounts. The following amendments are proposed to the Policy in response to the changing use of social media:
The Mayor will have administration rights to the Mayoral social media accounts (including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram) and will use the accounts to promote relevant activities of Mayor and Council. The strategic focus of these social media channels will be on the activities and priorities of the Mayor and Council, and not on City’s activities which will be promoted on the City’s corporate social media accounts;
With the permission of Councillors, the City will tag private social media accounts of Councillors in social media posts; and
The City will take reasonable steps to proactively respond to inaccurate and misleading comments posted on key mainstream local social media accounts, including but not limited to:
Geelong Advertiser;
KRock; and
Bay FM.
Councillor Asher moved, Councillor Grzybek seconded -
That the Notice of Motion be deferred.
Carried.
A review of the Local Government Act commenced in 2015, resulting in the Local Government Bill 2019 (the Bill) being passed by the Legislative Assembly in November 2019.
The Bill introduced a compulsory move to a new electoral structure with single member wards for most Councils. There is provision for Ministerial approval of an un-subdivided municipality model, however this is intended for small rural Councils only.
The Local Government Act 2020 passed the Victorian Parliament on 17 March 2020.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) reviewed the Greater Geelong City Council’s electoral representation structure in November 2015 and it was implemented for the first time after administration in November 2017. Under the new Local Government Act 2020, the Greater Geelong City Council will move to single member wards which is unlikely to take effect until 2024.
The current electoral structure for the Greater Geelong City Council consist of 4 wards, 3 of which have three Councillors and one ward has two Councillors. This creates inequity in the representation for each ward in Council decision making. In order to achieve an equitable representation for the community, the wards should all consist of 3 Councillors. Equitable representation across the wards is consistent with the State Government’s recent reforms which are designed to ensure Councils can best serve the communities they represent.
Council has previously requested the Local Government Minister to change the current ward system to introduce an equal number of Councillors across 4 wards, but this was rejected by the Minister as the then only proposed changes to single ward would meet Council’s desire for equal representation.
Councillor Grzybek moved, Councillor Harwood seconded -
That the Notice of Motion be deferred.
Carried.
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