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2008 Elections

2008 Elections

This year the Local Government Elections will be held on Saturday, 13 September 2008.

Close of Rolls: Monday, 4 August 2008
Close of Nominations: Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Postal Votes Open: 15th August 2008
Postal Votes Applications closes: 8th September 2008
Election day: Saturday, 13 September 2008
Postal Votes Close: 15th September 2008

Regional Returning Officer

Blayney Shire Council has elected to take part in the ‘Regional Returning Officer’ approach being undertaken by the Electoral Commission of NSW.  This means that there will not be a Returning Officer based in Blayney Shire during the election period.  The Returning Officer will be based in Bathurst and shared with Bathurst Regional Council. All Councils have expressed logistical issues with this arrangement, however the Electoral Commission is confident that these may be overcome and will provide cost savings to each council.

Polling Places Voting Centres
Blayney Shire has been provided the normal voting centres for the upcoming elections, these are:

Barry Community Hall
Carcoar Public School
Millthorpe Public School 
Lyndhurst Public School 
Neville Public School
Errowanbang Public School
Blayney Public School
Newbridge Public School
 

Pre Election Seminars

Pre election seminars are being organised by a variety of groups, currently the Electoral Commission of NSW have organised two seminars at Bathurst Regional Council (Cnr Russell & William Street)  on Saturday 31st May 2008 running between 10.30 am and 12 noon and the other one at Orange Civic Theatre (Byng Street) on Friday 13th June running between 6:00 pm and 7:30pm for all interested candidates.  The Electoral Commission will be facilitating the seminars and are aiming to cover key topics that prospective candidates need to have an understanding of prior to nominating for council.  Existing candidates are encouraged to attend as there are many changes in legislative requirements and operational procedures from the 2004 local government elections.

Our System of Government

What is local government
Council responsibilities
Services and functions
Council meetings and council committees
Roles and Responsibilities of a Councillor

Councillor as a member of the governing body
Councillor an elected representative
Leadership role
Management Plan
Community consultation
State of the Environment Report
Accountability 

Life as a Councillor

A demanding role
Managing time
Fees and benefits
Liability as a councillor
Defamation
Disclosure of interests
Working relationships between councillors, the mayor, the general manager and staff
Code of conduct
Councillor professional development program 

The Election Process

Electoral roll
Notice of election
How to be nominated
Electing the mayor
Election timetable. 

Those people wishing to attend should contact the General Manager to make a booking.

Publications – Becoming A Councillor

The Department of Local Government has updated their information for intending candidates and release a new publication entitled ‘Becoming a Councillor’.  This publication is available on the Departments web site at http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/documents/Information/becoming a Councillor.pdf.
Alternatively interested people can access this publication via the Blayney Shire Council under ‘About Council’.  Printed copies are also available from Council’s Office.

Candidate Information

Candidate Information is available from a variety of sources, the Blayney Shire Council website, www.blayney.local-e.nsw.gov.au, the Electoral Commission of NSW www.elections.nsw.gov.au and the Department of Local Government www.dlg.nsw.gov.au.

© 2008 Blayney Shire Council
This page: http://blayney.local-e.nsw.gov.au/council/9818.html