Proposed Changes

At its meeting on 9 June, Council decided to ask the community about changes to its Governance Rules.

Some changes will affect how the public can take part in meetings. Others only affect Councillors.

Changes affecting community

All of the proposed changes in this section will be included in the proposed new Council Meeting Public Participation Policy that will guide public participation in Council meetings.

New: Council Meeting Public Participation Policy

Proposed change	Reason
Rules about public participation will be placed into a new Council Meeting Public Participation Policy This covers public questions, public comments, Council submission hearings, petitions and joint letters The Recording of Council Meetings Policy will be removed, and important parts will be added to the new policy	It will be easier for people to find this information It will be easier for Council to update this policy, if they want to, rather than having to change the Governance Rules Incorporating rules about recording of Council meetings into the new Policy means that people only have to read one policy

Public questions

Public questions are a way for public to engage with, and ask questions of, Council on a range of topics. Public questions are read out and answered at meetings, provided that they are compliant.

They can be submitted online or in person (at a customer service centre).

Currently the deadline is 12 noon on the day of the Council meeting.

Proposed changes	Reason
Questions must be sent by 5pm on the Friday before the meeting A verifiable email address must be provided	Earlier deadline gives Council more time to consider answers Email verification helps prevent misuse

Public comments

Public comments can be made about a recommendation made in a Council report or a Notice of Motion in the Council agenda for that meeting. They can support or oppose the agenda item.

Currently the deadline is 3pm on the day of the Council meeting. This only applies to comments sent online. People can still attend the meeting and make a comment about an agenda item on the day, provided that they are compliant.

Proposed changes	Reason
Comments must be sent by 12 noon on the day of the meeting A verifiable email address must be provided	Agendas are published the Thursday before the meeting This gives enough time for people to read the agenda and submit a comment Email verification helps prevent misuse

Changes affecting Councillors

All of the proposed changes in this section will be included in the Governance Rules that guide Councillors while in a Council meeting.

Voting method

Currently the Governance Rules state that voting on any matter is by show of hands or such other visible or audible means as the Chair determines.

Proposed changes	Reason
Voting must be by show of hands Another method can be used if a Councillor cannot raise their hand. This will be agreed with by the Chair before the meeting.	Each Councillors vote on an item will be clearly visible

Recording votes

Currently votes are noted as carried or opposed when decisions are required for agenda items. How each councillor voted is only recorded if a Division is called.

Proposed changes	Reason
Each Councillor’s vote is recorded in the minutes for every motion Votes will always be recorded The need to call a Division will be removed as this is no longer required	There will be a record of how Councillors voted on each item in the minutes

Electing Mayor and Deputy Mayor

The current Governance Rules state that if the first vote for the Mayor or Deputy Mayor does not have a clear majority, Councillors will be asked if they want to meet on a later day and time to vote again.

Proposed changes	Reason
After every three votes, if no candidate has an absolute majority, Council can decide to hold a new election later	This allows more voting rounds before deciding to delay the election This may mean a new Mayor or Deputy Mayor are elected in a shorter time period

Change Affecting Notices of Motion

Currently, Councillors can submit a Notice of Motion by 12 noon on the third working day before the date of the Council meeting.

Proposed changes	Reason
12 noon on the fifth working day before the meeting	Gives other Councillors more time to review and understand the motion Helps them ask questions and make informed decisions Supports checking and declaring any conflicts of interest

Other Changes

There are also some other minor changes to the Rules. These can be viewed in the Draft Governance Rules. You can identify them by the track changes in the document.

How you can participate

You can give feedback Council will consider as part of its decision making until 5:00pm on Monday 29 June 2026 by:

	filling out the online feedback form
	emailing the Governance Team
	posting to Hume City Council, PO Box 119, Dallas, VIC 3047