Council Meetings and Committees
All residents and ratepayers are welcome to attend a Council Meeting and familiarise themselves with the way Council makes decisions.
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Business Papers and Minutes
Currently some items and attachments can only be published on this website at a low resolution. If this does not meet your requirements or if you experience difficulty viewing a particular item or attachment contact The Hills Shire Council's Public Officer on 9843 0555 or email council@thehills.nsw.gov.au
All Business Papers, Minutes of Council and Committee Meetings are available to the public. Copies of the minutes from each meeting are available from this website on the Friday after the meeting or from Council's Customer Service Centres on the following Monday after the meeting. Please note that these minutes have yet to be adopted by Council.
Click on the following links to access the latest and archived Business Papers and Minutes for each meeting:
Each ordinary Council meeting follows an order of business. The Mayor opens the meeting, the National Anthem is sung and issues carried over from prior meetings are addressed. Matters are then raised for discussion from the agenda (this is also called the Business Paper). Prior to the Business Paper being discussed, a 'Community Forum' allows members of the gallery an opportunity to ask questions on any topic not related to an item on the Business Paper that evening. 30 minutes is allocated for the 'Community Forum' with a limit of five minutes for each speaker.
The Business Paper outlines what will be covered at each meeting and is available from each Shire library and on this website on the weekend before each meeting. A copy is also available from the Customer Service Centre on the Monday before each meeting.
To find out what will be covered at a Council Meeting you can also call Council's Agenda line on 9843 0130. This service lists all items to be considered at the next Council or Committee Meeting.
During a Council meeting, people interested in a matter sometimes address Council - always on application and at the Mayor's discretion. The Councillors then discuss the matter and either vote or defer it. A formal counting of votes is occasionally called for especially with a close vote. If three Councillors disagree with a decision they are able to lodge a "rescission motion". This can happen during the meeting or within 24 hours of the decision being made. This rescission motion means that the original decision does not stand and the matter must be reconsidered at the next Council Meeting.
After consideration of all matters on the agenda, Councillors may ask "Questions Without Notice."
Community Forum & Councillors' Questions Without Notice Responses 2011
Community Forum & Questions Without Notice 13 September 2011 (98.66kB)
Community Forum & Councillors' Questions Without Notice Responses Archive
Occasionally Council holds extraordinary meetings. These are Council meetings held outside the normal meeting cycle most often to consider matters of an urgent nature.
This is a staff committee to deal with applications which attract some concern but generally can be controlled by conditions. The meeting is held on a Tuesday and is not a public meeting. All Councillors receive a copy of the weekly DAU agenda and can have any matter referred to Council for consideration by giving notice by 5pm the following Wednesday. Any decisions of the DAU are void if this occurs.
Are open to all residents and ratepayers. Each meeting deals with matters concerning local roads in the Shire and includes:
- Proposed closures;
- Parking and traffic restrictions;
- Traffic signals;
- Traffic management plans;
- Speed and load limits;
- Location of bus stops.
The Audit Committee is an advisory committee to Council. Its primary objective it to assist Council in the effective conduct of its responsibilities for financial reporting, risk management, maintaining internal control and promoting ethical development. It also assists in the coordination of management, internal and external audit to achieve the organisation's objectives in a timely and effective manner.
Delegated Authority Meetings require a Resolution of Council to delegate to the Mayor and General Manager those authorities that would normally rest with the Council, subject to the limitations under Section 377 of the Local Government Act. A Resolution of Council is passed during November to allow for two or three Delegated Authority Meetings to occur every year over the Christmas/New Year period, when Council is in recess.
Council Meetings Dates Schedule 2012
| Delegated Authority Meetings - 3.00pm |
|
12 January 2012
25 January 2012
|
|
Ordinary Meetings of Council - 7.00pm
|
| February |
March |
April |
|
14 February 2012
28 February 2012
|
13 March 2012
27 March 2012
|
10 April 2012
24 April 2012
|
| May |
June |
July |
|
8 May 2012
22 May 2012
|
12 June 2012
26 June 2012
|
10 July 2012
24 July 2012
|
| August |
September |
October |
|
14 August 2012
28 August 2012
|
11 September 2012
25 September 2012
|
9 October 2012
23 October 2012
|
| November |
December |
|
13 November 2012
27 November 2012
|
11 December 2012 |
| Traffic Committee Meetings – 2.00pm |
Audit Committee Meetings – 7.00pm |
|
20 February 2012
19 March 2012
16 April 2012
21 May 2012
18 June 2012
16 July 2012
20 August 2012
17 September 2012
15 October 2012
19 November 2012
17 December 2012
|
22 March 2012
19 July 2012
16 October 2012
13 December 2012
|
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Development Applications determined by the Joint Regional Planning Panels include:
General development over $20 million
Development that has a capital investment value of more than $20 million.
Council related development over $5 million
Development that has a capital investment value of more than $5 million if:
(a) a council for the area in which the development is to be carried out is the applicant for development consent, or
(b) the council is the owner of any land on which the development is to be carried out, or
(c) the development is to be carried out by the council, or
(d) the council is a party to any agreement or arrangement relating to the development (other than any agreement or arrangement entered into under the Act or for the purposes of the payment of contributions by
a person other than the council).
Crown development over $5 million
Crown development that has a capital investment value of more than $5 million.
Private infrastructure and community facilities over $5 million
Development that has a capital investment value of more than $5 million for any of the following purposes:
(a) air transport facilities, electricity generating works, port facilities, rail infrastructure facilities, road infrastructure facilities, sewerage systems, telecommunications facilities, waste or resource management
facilities, water supply systems, or wharf or boating facilities,
(b) affordable housing, child care centres, community facilities, correctional centres, educational establishments, group homes, health services facilities or places of public worship.
Eco-tourist facilities over $5 million
Development for the purpose of eco-tourist facilities that has a capital investment value of more than $5 million.
Particular designated development
Development for the purposes of:
(a) extractive industries, which meet the requirements for designated development under clause 19 of Schedule 3 to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, or
(b) marinas or other related land and water shoreline facilities, which meet the requirements for designated development under clause 23 of Schedule 3 to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000, or
(c) waste management facilities or works, which meet the requirements for designated development under clause 32 of Schedule 3 to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000.
Coastal subdivision
Development within the coastal zone for the purposes of subdivision of the following kind:
(a) subdivision of land for any purpose into more than 100 lots, if more than 100 of the lots will not be connected to an approved sewage treatment work or system,
(b) subdivision of land for residential purposes into more than 100 lots, if the land:
(i) is not in the metropolitan coastal zone, or
(ii) is wholly or partly in a sensitive coastal location,
(c) subdivision of land for rural-residential purposes into more than 25 lots, if the land:
(i) is not in the metropolitan coastal zone, or
(ii) is wholly or partly in a sensitive coastal location.
The following Development Applications are to be determined by the NSW Government Joint Regional Planning Panel Sydney West Region. A copy of the meeting agenda and associated reports can be downloaded at www.jrpp.nsw.gov.au.
Current Reports and Agendas
Task Groups
Council from time to time establishes specific Task Groups to research and report on specific tasks. Currently these are:
- Sports Field and Open Space Management Task Group
- Waste and Resource Recovery Task Group
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