KINGSTON Council is pushing ahead with its plan to restructure its community consultation process to replace the existing village committee forums.
Feedback is being sought on a ‘revised community consultation structure’ which would see village committees replaced by “project and theme based” committees.
The new groups would look at specific community concerns and report to council.
However, critics of the new consultation system believe this would ensure council could decide which problems are publicly aired.
Village committee representatives were able to bring problems to councillors’ attention at monthly council meetings open to the public.
Kingston Mayor, Cr Paul Peulich, admitted council would have “more control” over the consultation process when questioned by The News but said this was necessary to “stop the politicisation and hijacking of certain committees by special interest groups.”
Cr Peulich said village committee members were welcome to participate in a focus group looking at how the new community consultation process would work in practice.
“We recognise local knowledge and is important and project based committees would enable Kingston residents to engage their expertise in a particular subject,” he said.
The village committees system of consultation – placed on hold last month until council decides how to structure the revised consultation process – had led to lengthy feedback sessions at monthly council meetings due to the sheer number of subjects raised en masse, according to Cr Peulich.
“Other people and groups attend council meetings and it was unfair to them to have to wait hours to hear about other issues,” he said.
Appointed residents of nine Kingston village committees have provided feedback to council on issues affecting since their establishment in 1997.
A review of the villages committees was begun by council in July last year.
Several village committee members are unhappy that they were not consulted on the suspension of the committees and regard the outcome of council’s review as being predetermined.
Cr Peulich said Kingston was the only council in Victoria which operated a village committees system, as far as he was aware.
Implementing a community consultation process would bring Kingston Council into line with neighbouring municipalities, according to the mayor.
He said ratepayers could still ask councillors about community concerns at ward meetings.
Council has used project based committees for feedback on projects such as the revamp of the Moorabbin Junction.
See www.kingston.vic.gov.au or call council on 9581 4904 to get involved.
