Newsletter 29 – Mayor and Deputy Mayor – their roles

The choices of Mayor and Deputy Mayor are critical because they, together, can set the scene for collaborative decision taking.

North Sydney, for the first time since 1983, will next September have a Mayor elected by Councillors.

Who wants to be Mayor and Deputy Mayor?

I expect every Councillor hankers to be Mayor and Deputy Mayor and will put their name forward to be elected – certainly I will.

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are best drawn from different groups (as registered with the NSW Electoral Commission).

The tasks of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

The most important tasks of the Mayor are to:

Represent Council to our North Sydney community and elsewhere;
Provide the interface between Council and its executive –
- critically, to ensure that the executive is carrying out the policies and decisions of Council.

Whilst the task of speaking for Council rests with the Mayor, Councillors should be free to speak publicly in their own right.

The Mayor normally chairs Council meetings.

Where the Mayor wishes to engage in debate the position of the chair should be passed to the Deputy Mayor (or a Councillor neutral on the issue).
Mayor Minutes should be limited to matters that require an urgent decision.

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor should be present for routine management meetings with the Council’s executive.

Tenure of Mayor

The Mayor’s term is 2 years. It’s a matter for Councillors but I would not stand for a second term preferring to pass the leadership role to another.

Relationship with Precincts

Precincts are important; they inform Councillors of the matters that are concerning the community.

As a precinct’s charter is to make recommendations to Council they should:

A member of the executive of a precinct who nominates to be elected to Council should be allowed to continue in that executive position.