About Council Meetings

One of the primary and most important functions undertaken by the Mayor and Elected Members is to attend and participate in the decision-making process at council meetings. Decisions made at a formal council meeting provide the direction and authority for the ongoing operation of the council. The decisions give direction to the CEO and are implemented by the City of Holdfast Bay staff.

It is also at council meetings that the Mayor and Elected Members decide the policy direction of the council and make decisions on other statutory matters. The council is a corporate body and can only make decisions by resolution (i.e. a motion has to be put to a properly convened meeting and passed by the required majority of members). A council can only make decisions and pass resolutions about matters falling within its jurisdiction, otherwise, it will be deemed to be acting "ultra vires" (i.e. acting beyond its powers).

Formal meeting procedures are followed and, except the Mayor who chairs the meeting, all members present at a council meeting must vote on every motion put to the meeting. The Mayor only has a casting vote if there is an equality of votes.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend council meetings. These are held at the Council Chamber, Glenelg Town Hall, Moseley Square, Glenelg from 7pm on specified Tuesdays.

Meetings are only closed when topics of a confidential nature are being discussed, such as an individual's financial circumstances, a particular staff member, commercial, in-confidence, or legal matters.

Except for pre-approved deputations, it is not possible for a member of the public to join in on the debate or speak to Elected Members during the meeting.

An agenda listing the issues and relevant reports for discussion at the meeting is made available to the public online in advance a few days before the meeting so that everyone has the opportunity to be aware of matters before the council.

Hard copies of the agenda are also available for viewing at the Brighton Civic Centre or any of our libraries.

Minutes are displayed on our webpage (available here) a few days after a council meeting.

A petition is a document containing the names, signatures, and addresses of a group of people who have a common cause to bring to the attention of their Elected Representatives.

Our local government system is designed to give the community the opportunity to raise concerns about issues in their area.

If you or a group of people would like to raise an issue with the council you can contact your Elected Members or the Chief Executive Officer:

• by letter
• by telephone
• in person

Please note that under the Local Government Bylaw, it is not legal to collect signatures on Local Government land without permission. If you are collecting signatures on private land e.g. a shopping centre, you will need the permission of the centre owner or manager.

Submitting a Petition

(see also Petition Template below)

Step 1

It is specified in regulation 10 of the Local Government (Procedures at Meetings) Regulations 2013 that each page of the petition must:

• be legibly written or typed or printed.
• clearly set out the request or submission of the petitioners.
• include the name and address of each person who signed and endorsed the petition; and
• be addressed to the council and delivered to the principal office of the council.

The City of Holdfast Bay also requires:

• Each page of a petition must identify the name and contact details of the head petitioner and restate the whole of the request or submission of the petitioners.
• A petition must be received no less than 6 clear days prior to the date of the next ordinary council meeting or the date at which the head petitioner requests that the petition be presented to the Council.

Step 2

Provide a cover letter with the petition detailing the name, address, and contact details of the Head Petitioner(s) to whom we can address correspondence.

Step 3

Submit the petition to the City of Holdfast Bay, 24 Jetty Road, Brighton.
The original copy of each page of the petition must be provided to the council.
When a petition is received, the Chief Executive Officer must ensure that the petition is placed on the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of the council.

After your petition is received

1. The petition will be presented to the council at a subsequent council meeting as a formal part of the agenda.
2. Members of the public are welcome to attend all meetings but cannot participate in the debate at meetings.
3. Petitioners may wish to consider requesting the opportunity to present a deputation (verbal presentation) to the elected members at the same meeting.
4. The report is presented to the council for consideration, in accordance with our Privacy Policy your petition is available to be viewed upon request.
5. The council will vote on a resolution. The result will be formally included as part of the minutes of the meeting.

Notification of the outcome

The relevant council officer will contact you about the status of your petition once a resolution is made by the council.

A deputation may be made by a person or group who wishes to appear personally before a council or council committee meeting in order to speak on a particular matter.

Each deputation is allocated a five-minute time limit in which to address the meeting and a deputation is limited to three people. Elected Members are able to ask questions after each deputation.

Deputations on behalf of an organisation, community group, or incorporated association, must prior to the council or committee meeting they wish to appear, advise the Chief Executive Officer in writing the following information (each organisation only needs to provide this information once a council term):

• Date of formation and/or incorporation of their organisation
• Provide a copy of the constitution and/or rules of the organisation
• Provide a list of members
• Evidence in the form of a minute that the organisation and or body has approved the deputation

A person wishing to appear as a deputation may email or deliver a written request addressed to the Principal Office of the City of Holdfast Bay. Requests can be emailed to the Chief Executive Officer at mail@holdfast.sa.gov.au , dropped off at our Customer Service Centre located at 24 Jetty Road Brighton, or posted to:

City of Holdfast Bay
PO Box 19
Brighton SA 5048

The request must be received at least six clear days prior to the Ordinary Council or committee meeting at which you wish to be heard. Any request for a deputation received after this time will be treated as a request to appear at the next meeting.

Upon the receipt of a deputation request, the following process will be followed:

1. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will advise the Presiding Member (Mayor or Chairperson) of the receipt of a deputation request.
2. The Presiding Member will consider the request and advise the CEO of acceptance or refusal of the request.
3. The CEO will advise the requestor in writing of the acceptance of their deputation request (including the details of the date, time, location of the meeting and the length of time allocated for the deputation). Or the CEO will advise the requestor in writing if their deputation request has been refused.

If refused, the Presiding Member will report the decision to the next meeting of the council or committee.