Councils were created by state governments to look after some needs of local communities.
Some councils provide local services for young people eg:
- Youth Week events
- youth centres
- youth council
- youth development officer.
- see your council's website or ring your council's community services section to find out if it has any of these services.
Councils are there to meet the needs of all people in their community, not just ratepayers (landowners). In deciding what is best for the community, councillors should consider the needs of all age groups and cultures. Councils also have a role in attracting new businesses to invest in the area while providing a pleasant, safe and secure environment for local people.
Who is in the council?
Councils are made up of:
- councillors: elected representatives of the people
- mayor / lord mayor / shire president: the head councillor
- paid staff, sometimes called council officers
- The General Manager: the head of the paid staff
The General Manager is the link between the councillors and the paid staff.
Councillors are not employed by the council. Most of them have other jobs, study or raise children on top of their council duties. They get a small amount of money each year to help cover expenses in fulfilling their duties.
The Mayor
Each council has a Mayor, Lord Mayor or Shire President, who is either directly elected by voters, or by the other councillors. They chair (run) the council meetings and are responsible for council affairs between meetings. He or she also acts as the public face of council at official meetings and ceremonies.
Council staff
Council staff are not elected. They are paid employees with experience, skills and qualifications to carry out the work of the council. Staff also provide expert advice on issues being debated at council meetings by presenting formal reports at council meetings. It is then up to the elected councillors to make the final decisions.
Council Meetings
Council meetings are held once or twice per month. They are open to the public and to the media. Find out when your next council meeting is:
- ring your local council
- look on your council website
- look in your suburban or town newspaper in the council notice section.
Council finances
Where do councils get their money from?
- Around one-third of income comes from rates (taxes paid on land each year by landowners and businesses)
- Councils charge fees for some of the services they provide, such as swimming pools.
- Councils receive grants from state & federal governments. A grant may be for a specific purpose such as fixing a road or it may be a general purpose grant, which they can choose how to spend
- Councils can borrow money for major projects and repay the loan over a number of years.
Each year the council will decide on a budget for the next 12 months. To do this, the council estimates the cost of all ongoing and new or possible projects. They then decide in order of priority what things must be included in the budget (ie. rubbish collection), what things might be included or held off until another time and what proposals should be rejected. These decisions are made on the basis of priority and what the community needs.
This program is set out in a Council Management Plan that is put on display for 28 days. After considering any submissions from the public, the council adopts the Management Plan for the next financial year. Once the council has decided what tasks need to be carried out, it is the council staff, and any private firms they hire, who do the work.
Councils are not all the same size - they vary in population, geographic area, budget and number of staff. NSW council staff numbers range from around 10 staff at the smallest council to around 1,000 staff at the largest.
Find out about your local council
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look in your local newspaper - the council should have regular notices of meetings, decisions and programs
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find its website: a common address format is www.[councilarea].nsw.gov.au (eg. www.bluemountains.nsw.gov.au) or see the links at www.alga.asn.au/links/obc.php
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contact the youth development officer, if there is one, and ask them what council is doing for local young people. Many of the NSW youth development officers are listed on YAPA's list of NSW youth worker networks at www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/facts/networkslist.php
Published: 2006
