Narrandera Shire Councillor Cameron Lander has sought a regular report noting progress on the implementation of Council resolutions or at least the reason(s) for a resolution not being progressed.

He said these progress reports should be tabled at each ordinary meeting of council, citing: Section 2.1.1 of the Office of Local Government’s 2024 Councillor Handbook which indicates that the “… governing body of a council should … direct and control the affairs of the council in accordance with the Act … and … keep under review the performance of the council, including service delivery.”

“Arguably, an important aspect of council’s service delivery is ensuring that resolutions of the governing body are implemented in a timely and effective manner unless there are valid reasons such as a lack of grant funding preventing this,” he said.

Cr Lander said while current business papers and minutes of meetings provided a degree of transparency around council decisions to the community and external stakeholders, they did not note any progress on the implementation of those decisions or provide reasons as to why they cannot be implemented at a particular point in time.

“A number of factors can impact on the implementation of a decision and the governing body should be informed on these on a regular basis. Such reporting should not only note where implementation has been adversely affected but also where a decision has been successfully implemented,” he said.

“Tabling these reports in open council will help keep the community informed and contribute to the council being more open and accountable to its constituents. It also mirrors the approach of other governing bodies such as Griffith City Council.”