Meeting Dates

The Council meets on the last Thursday of every month, with a possible exception in December where the meeting may be a week earlier. Recommendations from the three standing committee meetings in the weeks prior to the Ordinary Council Meetings are considered and adopted as appropriate.

Ordinary Council Meetings are held in the Council Chambers, Murray Street, Pinjarra, commencing at 9.00 am and are open to all residents. During Public Question Time, which begins at the start of the meeting, any questions or queries can be raised and answered by Council members.

Please refer to the Events Calendar for upcoming Council Meeting dates.

Council & Committee Meetings

Murray Shire Councillors meet on a monthly basis to discuss matters pertaining to Council business. These full Council meetings are supplemented by standing Council committees - Corporate Services Committee; Technical Services Committee; and the Planning and Development Services Committee. These bodies discuss and assess items prior to Ordinary Council discussion. They may make decisions, which are either referred to Council for ratification, or, in some cases, the Committees are given authority to act without reference to Council.

How Decisions Are Made

Sometimes whole sets of recommendations are adopted at Full Council with very little discussion or debate. The reason for this is simple. The three Standing Committees have met in the weeks preceding the Council meeting, staff reports have been received and detailed discussion engaged between Councillors, Senior Staff and members of the public or groups with an interest in the issue, before arriving at the recommendations submitted to Council.

At the monthly Council meeting, each Committee moves that all recommendations of their Committee which are recorded in the Minutes of each Committee, be adopted by the Council.

The motion may be adopted without variations or further discussions.

Standing Committees

Standing Committee meetings are not open to the public, however any person wishing to address the Committee on any matter may do so via written application to the Chief Executive Officer.

A community group or individual wishing to have a matter brought before Council should contact the Chief Executive Officer or relevant Senior Officer two weeks prior to the Standing Committee meeting, to allow an appropriate Agenda item to be prepared.

Corporate Services Committee

Meets on a Tuesday ONE week prior to the Ordinary Council Meeting.

Deals with: Financial and administrative issues such as budgets and accounts, governance issues as well as issues relating to Ranger Services, Library Services, Local Laws and Council Policies and Community Arts/Cultural Services.

Technical Services Committee

Meets on a Tuesday ONE week prior to the Ordinary Council Meeting.

Deals with: Traffic management, road construction and maintenance, drainage, Council parks, gardens and reserves, cemetery enquiries, waste management.

Planning & Development Services Committee

Meets on a Tuesday ONE week prior to the Ordinary Council Meeting.

Deals with: Provides a wide range of services encompassing four main areas, Planning, Building, Health and the environment.