Having explored the history and form of a council let us consider for a moment what the intent was. Clearly our forefathers concluded that forming a local council would be a way in which the community could pool its wealth to provide badly needed resources and further its prosperity, each paying toward the common good. In time councils grew, and had to be more organised in order to take on the increasing demands for maintenance and upkeep of the evolving community assets.
To ensure the protection of these community investments a number of residents were chosen to form an executive body, tasked with overseeing the appointment of a suitably qualified workforce and controlling their activities. The elected members were called councillors, and the collective body was our Council. From the elected members, an individual was nominated to be the Council’s chairman to preside over meetings, and was traditionally named The Mayor.
The Council hired a workforce to serve the community, taking care of the assets on a daily basis. The workforce consisted of workmen in the depots, and clerical staff administering activities from the Town Hall and were collectively referred to as Public Servants. The head of this workforce was the Town Clerk who reported regularly to the elected members as corporation secretary and legal adviser. The Town Clerk managed a number of departments headed by senior staff with duties of Council Surveyor, Council Engineer, etc depending on the supervised function.
This form of organisation evolved because of its inherent checks and balances, its ability to regulate the use of power, through an impartial but transitory executive controlling the purse strings (supply), to curb extravagences of the permanent staff. As the community evolved and grew, the addition of different types of assets and services made management much more intricate.
The asset development process was straightforward:
- For any proposed community project, the executive sought advice from their staff regarding the technical, legal and financial issues that may be involved. On receipt of a concept proposal the executive would deliberate the costs and benefits of the project before giving approval for the expenditure.
- Alternatively, council staff may petition the executive for funds to investigate a proposal needed by either new legislation, or necessity.
This system is most effective when specialist staff have the ability to present findings to the elected members in words the average person can understand. It isn’t necessary that councillors become familiar with the jargon and esoterics of each discipline. If staff can’t couch their findings in everyday language then it needs correcting until understandable. When the executive insist on such, they are not harassing or bullying staff, but exercising their duty to the electorate, in ensuring the Corporation is accountable and transparent. Fundamentally whan councillors ask for clarification with a “Please Explain”, it is a healthy sign that the system is working, its “Checks and Balances” operating. The alternative is that poorly considered proposals are forced through obfuscated by a veil of unintelligible legalese, as occurs when elected members are brow beaten to feel ignorant relative to the expertise of specialised staff.
The Maitland Watch 