See article in the Stirling Times on-line by Kate Leaver – Stirling residents renew calls for popularly elected mayor.
“RESIDENTS have renewed calls for the City of Stirling mayor to be elected by the people with two petitions presented to City of Stirling council on Tuesday.”
Apart from it being more democratic and less controversial to allow the people to choose who will be Mayor, it is very important to note that with our current system the Mayor is also a Councillor. On top of being the Mayor and a Councillor, they often work or run businesses. We think this is a prohibitively heavy work load for one person and City of Stirling ratepayers and residents need and deserve better.
Most Local Governments in Perth have far few residents & ratepayers to try and represent, some less than 3,000 electors, but in the City of Stirling our wards have around 18,000 to over 21,000 electors, a very big ask in itself.
With all due respect to past Mayors, some of whom have done an excellent job, our population is growing and the City of Stirling is Perth largest and most populated Local Government. For this reason and because of the increasing and varied roles being carried out by Local Governments and the complexities involved in many of the issues that arise, we believe that we need a dedicated Mayor.
We are proposing that we retain the 14 Councillor positions and have a dedicated Mayor, as is allowed in the Local Government Act of 1995 if approved by the Council (Councillors).
This would not cost any extra as the current Mayor is being paid to do both roles.
For more information
For more information see the Local Government Act of 1995 and specifically the following sections;
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995 – SECT 2.11
2.11 . Alternative methods of filling office of mayor or president
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995 – SECT 2.8
2.8 . Role of mayor or president
(1) The mayor or president —
(a) presides at meetings in accordance with this Act; and
(b) provides leadership and guidance to the community in the district; and
(c) carries out civic and ceremonial duties on behalf of the local government; and
(d) speaks on behalf of the local government; and
(e) performs such other functions as are given to the mayor or president by this Act or any other written law; and
(f) liaises with the CEO on the local government’s affairs and the performance of its functions.
(2) Section 2.10 applies to a councillor who is also the mayor or president and extends to a mayor or president who is not a councillor.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1995 – SECT 2.10
A councillor —
(a) represents the interests of electors, ratepayers and residents of the district; and
(b) provides leadership and guidance to the community in the district; and
(c) facilitates communication between the community and the council; and
(d) participates in the local government’s decision-making processes at council and committee meetings; and
(e) performs such other functions as are given to a councillor by this Act or any other written law.
