Horsham Rural City Council will hold its first online Ordinary Meeting on Monday, 11 May.
Last week the Victorian Parliament passed a new Bill which would allow councillors to attend a Council meeting by electronic means of communication during the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the start of the pandemic, Council has been advocating strongly for the sector to have the ability to conduct meetings remotely rather than meet in person.
The first meeting of Council under the new provisions will be held on Monday 11 May from 5.30pm via Zoom video conferencing and the public will be able to watch it live.
A dedicated room in the Civic Centre, for the Mayor, has been set up as a studio with Councillors and Officers attending via an on-line platform.
The agenda will be available on Council’s website at 5pm on Thursday 7 May.
A recording of the livestream will be placed on Council’s website following the meeting.
Mayor Mark Radford said he was pleased that Council could move forward after Parliament had passed the Bill.
“This is an important and positive step,” Cr Radford said.
“We thank the Victorian Government for listening to Councils and their concerns at this challenging time.
“We are ready to return to a regular pattern of meetings in what is an important time of the year with the Budget to be considered over the coming weeks,” he said.
The 11 May meeting will be held in lieu of the postponed April 27 Ordinary Meeting.
The meeting scheduled for May 25 will go ahead as planned.
