Councillors Expenses & Facilities Policy

Councillors Expenses & Facilities Policy

14/10/2011 - 11/11/2011

The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that there is accountability and transparency in the payment and/or reimbursement of expenses to the Lord Mayor and Councillors in carrying out their civic duties and that these expenses and facilities provided are appropriate and reasonable.

The Division of Local Government provides guidelines to assist Council's in developing, implementing and reviewing this Policy and these guidelines have been taken into account in reviewing the existing Policy.

The Amended Policy proposes a number of enhancements to improve accountabillity and transparency and include:

Overseas travel to be reported to Council detailing the purpose of the trip, expected benefits, duration, itinerary, approximate costs and nomination/number of Councillors undertaking the trip.
Amending approval arrangements to avoid one person being the decision maker for all applications for attendance at conferences and the like.
Amending the process for Councillors claiming reimbursement of expenses.
Quarterly reporting to Council on all conferences attended by Councillors.
Written reports to Council on Conferences to be provided by Councillors.
Reimbursement of child care expenses in lieu of providing a child care facility.
Clarifying insurance expenses and obligations.
Lord Mayor's motor vehicle provision and use.
The use of a purchase card by the Lord Mayor.

Payment of Expenses and Provision of Facilities to Lord Mayor and Councillors

Feedback on the amended Draft Payment of Expenses and Provision of Facilities to Lord Mayor and Councillors Policy is accepted until 5.00 p.m. Friday 11 November 2011.

Any person wishing to make a submission may do so by writing to the General Manager, Wollongong City Council, Locked Bag 8821, Wollongong DC NSW 2500 or by email to council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au.

For more information call Council's Corporate Support Manager on 4227 7036.

In accordance with the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009, your submission including any personal information such as your name and address, will be made available for public inspection and may be exhibited on Council’s website. You may request, in the form of a statutory declaration, that Council suppress the personal information in your submission from public inspection, if you consider that the personal safety of any person would be affected if the information was not suppressed. Any such request will be dealt with in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

You may also make an anonymous submission however if you choose to do so Council will be unable to contact you any further as to the outcome of your submission. It should also be noted that the lack of information as to your place of living may affect Council's consideration of the potential impact of the subject proposal.

Note: If Council receives a submission from any person who is legally required to provide a disclosure of any reportable political donation and / or gift under section 147 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Council is legally required to publicly disclose all relevant details of the reportable political donation or gift onto Council's website. This will include the name and residential address of the person who provided the political donation or gift onto Council's website for full viewing by the general public.

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WOLLONGONG CITY COUNCIL
▪ Address: Wollongong City Council, 41 Burelli Street, Wollongong NSW 2500 ▪ Postal: Locked Bag 8821 Wollongong NSW 2500
▪ DX: 27811 Wollongong Court ▪ Phone: (02) 4227 7111 ▪ Fax: (02) 4227 7277 ▪ Email: council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au
▪ Web: www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au ABN 63 139 525 939 – GST Registered