Town Council and local Democracy

[hermes2007]

Just a suggestion. I think it would make the Town Forums(s) more relevant and aid local democracy if the Town Council mandated that every Town Councillor must belong to at least one of the Forums and we could then have a 'Ask a Town Councillor' section. It would also help if the Council would publish the Minutes of their Meetings (the Public bits anyway) within say a week of the actual meeting.

[cuthbert-murray]

not all town councilors wish to join town forums and its their choice, the same as not all councilors have a computer , the people of the town do have the forum at town council at meetings where they can ask questions and recieve answers .
it has tobe remembered that town councilors do not recieve payment for their roles or do they recieve exspences  and do the job as a love of the town.
also if you wish to speak to your local councilor you can ring them anytime.

[Soup]

I don't think you can make them join, but they should be encouraged to. There are more people on these forums than attend council meetings (from my experience). It makes sense for them to communicate with people on here, as the people using these forums are obviously interested in the town.

However, the main problem would be sniping / petty arguments, as we all know can happen.

Would probably make more sense to have a Q&A section on the town council's site for people to ask questions there - this site needs to be regularly updated, and email alerts sent out to anyone who wants to subscribe to them.

[cuthbert-murray]

personally being told i have to join a forum would put me off completely ,and it could easily be abused by people .
again every member of the community has access to their own councilor and it depends on which part of the town you live as for example if you lived in the laverton ward , it would be more helpful to contact a councilor of that ward .
 rather than another ward , and when i get contacted by local people it is usual for it to be a issue for that person and i will help .

[hermes2007]

I was not going to reply Mike as we obviously have different interpretations of the word democracy. If a person is willing to stand as a local Councillor (and of course we are grateful that people like yourself are so willing) then I believe they should make every effort to be available to their constituents by all means possible - phone, in person, letter and in 2008 by email and by playing a part in local forums, virtual or not. Surely that should be considered part of their 'duties' in the role that they stood for. Its not just about personal issues (which I wouldn't want discussed here) but issues that affect the town as a whole, eg. litter, dog fouling etc. You do answer on such topics - for which thanks - but personally I think all the Councillors (and their officers if appropriate) should be so involved. This would raise their profile and make the forum(s) even better and useful for local people. As I said before it would also help if the Town Council web site could be kept up to date.

[Soup]

you'd be in danger of turning the forums into political debates though - they're forums for the people. If the town council needs a web presence (which I agree it does) it can be done separately.

[Mike Hawkins]

Just a suggestion. I think it would make the Town Forums(s) more relevant and aid local democracy if the Town Council mandated that every Town Councillor must belong to at least one of the Forums and we could then have a 'Ask a Town Councillor' section. It would also help if the Council would publish the Minutes of their Meetings (the Public bits anyway) within say a week of the actual meeting.

I do not believe you can make each councillor join a forum. Those councillors who are interested in what local people are saying will have already joined one of the forums.

As regards the Town Council website, Minutes cannot be published within a week of the meeting as, in fact, they do not become public documents until the next meeting of that Council/Committee when the minutes of the previous meeting are accepted as a true record.

Having said that, I have today been in touch with the council officers, to ensure that outstanding minutes are posted on the Town Council website as soon as possiuble. Hopefully, this will be done within the next few days.