Grant District Council will retain its monthly meeting schedule for the 2024 calendar year.
In November last year the new council opted to change its meeting schedule to once a month.
Following a review of the past 10 months, council has opted to not change the existing or revert back to the former structure.
Meetings were previously held bi-monthly on the first and third Monday of each month.
Council decided to no longer meet on the first Monday but retained meeting on the third Monday.
When a council meeting falls on a public holiday, the meeting will be rescheduled to be held on the following Wednesday.
Chief executive Darryl Whicker said management felt that changing meeting practices to one meeting per month would improve efficiency, release workload pressure and promote collaboration.
“The change of council meeting frequency from two meetings per month to one meeting per month has worked well,” Mr Whicker said.
He said the change allowed greater time between meetings to be able to support staff to better implement council decisions.
Mr Whicker also noted the change allowed for increased engagement with the elected members on strategic and complex issues via workshops and briefings.
“The current meeting structure has allowed for more elected member briefings so administration can better understand the council’s strategic intention, improve knowledge sharing and alignment of priorities,” he said.
Meanwhile, council’s principal office, on Commercial Street West, will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period.
It has operated in this manner since 2012.
In her report to council, executive assistant Fiona McGregor said the office will close at 12pm on December 22 and reopen on January 2, 2024.
“Council has a 24-hour customer call centre, so this still enables customers to contact council for emergency requirements,” she said.
All staff are required to take leave as per their accrued entitlements, such as annual leave, long service and flexitime.
“Enterprise Bargaining Agreements does permit some staff to select to work, but this must meet operational requirements for a specific purpose,” Ms McGregor said.
“The productivity from a staff perspective working between Christmas and New Year would be at a reduced level, and customer contact over the Christmas and the New Year period would also be minimal.”
A summary of council’s other business areas availability was listed, with the Works area to break up on December 22, with a staggered return from January 2, while staff remain on call for emergency situations.
Community Rangers will be rostered for patrols and available on call.
The Mount Gambier Regional Airport and Mount Gambier and District Saleyards staff are self-managed and will operate on a skeleton staff and be on call for emergencies.
Public amenity and waste collection services will continue throughout the break.
The Port MacDonnell Community Complex will be closed Christmas Day and restricted hours from December 23 to January 1.
