Council & Councillors

Roles Of Councillors, Mayor And Deputy Mayor

At Swan Hill Rural City Council, it is recognised that being clear about the different roles of the various parts of our local government assists us in providing good governance.  Accordingly, the following definitions of roles are used:

Mayor

The Mayor is the leader of Swan Hill Rural City Council and as such is the leader of all Councillors.  The Mayor has a key role to help all Councillors participate and work together in the interests of the Swan Hill Rural City Council’s community.

Deputy Mayor

Swan Hill Rural City Council has a Deputy Mayor in order to enhance the leadership provided by the Mayor and also to ensure that Swan Hill Rural City Council can be represented by its political leadership wherever this is necessary or desirable.  The Deputy Mayor also assists the Mayor to facilitate the spirit of co-operation and inclusion between elected representatives.

Councillors

Councillors have important roles to play in helping to achieve good governance.  At Swan Hill Rural City Council Councillors work together to achieve the best outcomes for the community.  To work together effectively Councillors strive to find ways to meet the accountability they have to the constituents in their wards and their accountability to the municipality as a whole.

Support for Councillors

Councillors are not expected to discharge their responsibilities without support.  Support is provided in a number of ways, including membership to Councillor based organisations such as the Municipal Association of Victoria, and administrative support from within Council.  In addition, each Councillor is supported financially as follows:

Allowances for Councillors and Mayor

The Local Government Act 1989 requires Councillors to receive an allowance in recognition of the discharge of their responsibilities.  Councillor and Mayoral allowances are heavily regulated in the Act, and include the following issues:

The Minister for Local Government identifies a scale of allowances within which a Council determines what it may be paid, with a separate scale for large, small and intermediate sized Councils.  A separate scale of allowances is determined for Mayors on the same basis.  A Mayor can only receive the Mayoral allowance (not a Councillor allowance plus a Mayoral allowance).

The Council determines on the allowances by June following an election, at which time the Council sets the allowances for the term of the Council.

The Councillor allowance is currently $15,000 per annum, and the Mayoral allowance is $40,000 per annum.

Councillor Expense Reimbursement

To enable all members of the community to participate on a Council, the Council has a Councillor Expense Reimbursement Policy, which states what type of expenditure will be reimbursed to Councillors, and under which circumstances Councillors and claim such reimbursement.

		Councillor Profile - Central Ward
		Central Ward is repesented by 4 Councillors.

		Councillor Representation on Committees
		Council Committees There are a number of committees of Council or organisations with which Council is affiliated or has a controlling interest.  It is necessary for Council to be represented on a number of those by a Councillor or an officer, either

		Councillor Profile - Murray Mallee Ward
		Murray Mallee Ward is represented by 1 Councillor.

		Councillor Profile - Robinvale Ward
		Robinvale Ward is represented by 1 Councillor.

		Councillor Profile - Lakes Ward
		Lakes Ward is represented by 1 Councillor.

		Ward Structure
		Swan Hill Rural City Council is divided into four Wards, consisting of seven Councillors elected from One Four-Councillor Ward and Three One-Councillors Wards.