New council, new time

SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council has locked in the dates and times of its formal 2022 public meetings.

All meetings will be held in Leongatha’s Council Chambers, with councillors voting to adjust the meeting time.

“We have agreed to move the meeting from 1pm to 2pm, which helps to accommodate some of the councillors,” Deputy Mayor Cr Nathan Hersey of Strzelecki Ward said.

He noted councillors would make themselves available for additional, informal meetings to increase opportunities for community engagement.

“Every fourth week, we will be having meetings at different times that will be on a rotating system,” Cr Hersey said.

Cr Scott Rae of Coastal Promontory Ward explained why all next year’s formal public council meetings would be held in Leongatha.

“The reason we have scheduled those formal meetings here every month is technology; we now have made a commitment to livestream, and to take that out on the road would have been problematic,” Cr Rae said.

Formal council meetings in 2022 will be held at 2pm on the third Wednesday of each month, beginning in February, with the exception of December, which will be held on the second Wednesday.

There will be an additional meeting on June 29 to expedite council business, incorporating the council budget deliberation processes.

Dates are February 16, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, June 29, July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 14.