COUNCIL 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 ITEM 10. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE PUBLIC TOILETS ACCESS FOR PADDINGTON TOWN HALL LIBRARY USERS (S103145) 1. By Councillor Green Question The City of Sydney owns and is responsible for the maintenance, infrastructure and management of the Paddington Town Hall. Woollahra Council manages the library facility, but the City is responsible for the utilities. It has come to my attention that there are no toilet facilities available for those using the community library in the building. Can the City rectify this situation and make available easy access to toilet facilities already installed in the building and, if so, when? Answer by the Lord Mayor Paddington Library, housed in Paddington Town Hall, is a joint initiative by the City of Sydney and Woollahra Municipal Council. In 2011, Woollahra Municipal Council (WMC) proposed a significant internal refurbishment to enhance the library’s attraction, utilisation and features. Both WMC the City of Sydney have allocated funds in 2013/14 complemented by a State Government Library grant facilitated by WMC. The 2014/15 Capital Works program includes the upgrading the interior of the library. The scope of work proposes new shelving, painting, carpet, reception areas and a refurbished children’s area with new story-time cushions, tables, chairs and shelving. A DDA compliant access ramp, handrails and sliding doors will also be constructed. Works will be completed by 30 June 2015. The library includes a staff toilet which is accessed through the staff kitchenette area. The City is investigating options for the installation of an accessible public bathroom within Paddington Town Hall and library so that visitors can stay at the library longer. The feasibility study should be completed by December 2014 and a report will then be submitted to Council for funding approval. MAYORAL TRAVEL (S103141) 2. By Councillor Mandla Question From time to time, The Lord Mayor and relevant staff travel interstate and overseas for various Council business and Council resolved trips. Please list the trips the Lord Mayor and/or the CEO or their representatives have undertaken in the past four financial years. Include itineraries, trip reports and estimated carbon footprint of those journeys. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 14541509 COUNCIL 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 Please itemise the cost of that travel, including the flights, accommodation, meals, beverages and other expenses of the Lord Mayor and staff. Please list number of staff or delegates that have accompanied the Lord Mayor and why they accompanied the Lord Mayor and/or the CEO or their representatives. Answer by the Lord Mayor All international travel by the Lord Mayor and Councillors is approved by Council with a report provided to Council following the travel. A budget is approved by Council and costs reported to Council in the relevant Quarterly Report. I have undertaken the following international travel in the past four years: • C40 São Paulo Summit: Approved by Council 6 December 2010; final report to Council 7 November 2011. The CEO and three staff also participated to provide support, share information and promote the City. • China International Fair Trade in Services and World Cities Summit in Singapore: Approved by Council on 31 May 2014; Lord Mayoral Minute to Council 23 June 2014; final report being prepared. Councillor Robert Kok and two staff participated in the travel to China to provide support, share information and promote City. On 18 November 2011, Council approved my participation in the C40 Large Cities Climate Change Summit in Johannesburg. I was unable to attend and the City’s Chief Executive Officer represented the City and one staff member. The CEO presented at international events in Abu Dhabi (April 2014) and Auckland (May 2014) with the costs of travel and accommodation paid by the conference organisers. In the past four years, I have travelled interstate to attend Council of Capital City Lord Mayor’s Meetings; the former Federal Government’s urban Policy Forum (Canberra); and to speak at the PIA National Congress (Canberra) and National Press Club (Canberra). Normally the CEO and one staff member also attend. METROPOLITAN MAYORS ASSOCIATION (S103141) 3. By Councillor Mandla Question On 13 May 2013, Council resolved to support the formation of the Sydney Metropolitan Mayors Association (SMMA) pledging $10,000 of rate payer money to its formation. It should be noted that Councilor Edward Mandla and Councilor Christine Forster both voted against this motion, citing its purpose was to delay and thwart the State Government’s intention to bring about long overdue and much needed reform to Local Government. 1. Please provide a list of Councils that are members of SMMA. 2. Please list the members of the executive and their political affiliations. 3. Please list the frequency of meetings including the dates of the last five meetings. 4. Please list Councils that declined to join SMMA. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 14541509 COUNCIL 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 Answer by the Lord Mayor Sydney Metropolitan Mayors was established in July 2013 and comprises twenty-two of the thirty-eight councils in the Sydney metropolitan area. Member councils reflect all political persuasions. Member councils include: Auburn Council, Ashfield Council, Bankstown City Council, Blacktown City Council, Botany Bay City Council, Burwood Council, Canada Bay Council, City of Canterbury, Fairfield City Council, Holroyd City Council, Hunter’s Hill Council, Leichhardt Council, Manly Council, Marrickville Council, Mosman Council, Pittwater Council, Randwick City Council, Rockdale City Council, Ryde City Council, Strathfield City Council, the City of Sydney and Woollahra Council. Further information is being sought from Sydney Metropolitan Mayors (the name adopted at the meeting of mayors to formally establish the association) and will be provided in a future CEO Update. USE OF THE MP TITLE (S103141) 4. By Councillor Mandla Question In 2013, the State Government passed a law forbidding elected state Members of Parliament (MP) from being a Councilor and an MP. This was an appropriate and widely supported law which every State in Australia had already enacted. At the time, 27 MPs had to make a choice to fully concentrate on one job. All but the Lord Mayor of Sydney decided to step down in their roles on Council. The Lord Mayor voluntarily decided to step down from Parliament in order to continue as Lord Mayor of Sydney. The Lord Mayor continues to use the title MP after her name on various publications even though the Lord Mayor is no longer a Member of Parliament. Parliamentary rules state that a Minister can keep the title Hon (Honourable) for three years after leaving parliament but you cannot continue to use MP after leaving Parliament. Why is the Lord Mayor continuing to use the MP title? Answer by the Lord Mayor On 20 September 2012, I was forced to resign from Parliament because of legislation enacted by the O'Farrell Government, with the support of the Shooters and Fishers Party and Fred Nile's Christian Democratic Party which banned the holding of elective positions in both State and local government. This anti-democratic legislation overturned a right of the people to determine who their representatives should be, a right that had existed since the beginning of representative government in this State in 1856. Just 18 months before the passage of this reprehensible legislation, the people of my electorate had democratically chosen me to be their representative for the seventh time. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 14541509 COUNCIL 15 SEPTEMBER 2014 Following my resignation from Parliament, I adopted the practice of striking out “MP” on my Lord Mayoral letterhead, rather than subject the City of Sydney to the additional expense of printing new letterhead. I also requested that “MP” be removed or struck out wherever it was used, and not appear after my name on documents created following my forced resignation. This includes new letterhead once supplies of the previous letterhead were exhausted. I invite Councillor Mandla to provide any examples where “MP” has been inadvertently used after my name. PARKING RANGERS (S103141) 5. By Councillor Mandla Question At the August 2014 Committee Meeting, Councillors were told that a $5.9 million drop in enforcement revenue was due to better compliance amongst the driving public. Councillor Edward Mandla asked whether the drop could be attributed to poor morale with parking rangers. He cited the Warfield Report, which no one in the Chamber could recall but was found after a subsequent Question on Notice, but is classified confidential. Following on from the Questions on Notice put to the Lord Mayor last month: 1, Who currently occupies the position of Principal Officer with the City of Sydney Council and what are the powers and duties of that position? 2. To whom does the Governance unit report, what are its tasks and what are the powers and duties of the individual staff positions in this unit? What statement of duties or functions of this role exists? Please provide a copy of the job description. 3. To which staff position in Council is the authority vested to oversee the application and good management of the Code of Conduct. 4. What mechanisms exist to ensure fairness and equity as the Code of Conduct is applied to staff at all levels of the organisation? 5. What safeguards exist to protect individual staff members from being bullied or intimidated by superiors misusing the Code of Conduct? 6. What provisions exist to ensure that interview panels for job applications will be selected so as to avoid nepotism and cronyism? 7. How is a disciplinary hearing initiated? 8. Who decides or how is it decided whether a disciplinary hearing is warranted? 9. How are decisions reached when disciplinary interviews are conducted and how is the constitution of the interview panel decided so as to avoid perceived conflicts of interest or perceptions of managerial bullying? 10.