Council Meetings

COVID-19 and Council’s General Meetings

Council’s General Meetings during the COVID-19 emergency period will proceed on the second Wednesday of each month commencing at 6.30pm.

Consistent with the messaging from the NSW Government, and in the interests of public health, the Meetings will be conducted on line.

Most Councillors and Senior Staff will be “attending” and participating in the Meetings via audio-visual links and members of the public will not be permitted to attend the Council Chambers.

Members of the public who wish to address Council about agenda or non-agenda items should send their written address via email to SColburt@hornsby.nsw.gov.au. Please include your name, suburb and details of your address.

The addresses are to be received by Council no later than 12 noon on the day of the Meeting and will be read out by the General Manager to the Meeting at the appropriate time.

Generally, a maximum of four written addresses will be read out by the General Manager on any agenda or non-agenda item – usually two addresses for and two against the recommendation, in respect of agenda items. Where more than four written addresses have been received on an item, preference will be given to those addresses received by Council first. The General Manager will advise the meeting of any further written addresses received.

A time limit of three minutes per address still applies so members of the public should ensure their written addresses meet this criteria.

All of the written addresses will be distributed to Councillors and relevant Senior Staff prior to the Meeting to ensure that Councillors have all available information on hand to make appropriate and well-informed decisions.

The on line Meetings will continue to be live-streamed, however, different technology is being utilised for the live-streaming process. Consequently the live-stream view of the Meeting will be a little different to what it has been previously, but it will still be viewable via the usual link: http://hornsby.webcastcloud.tv

If there are any questions in respect of the above, contact should be made with Council’s Governance and Administration Coordinator on 9847 6761 or by emailing SColburt@hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

The most significant decisions in Hornsby Shire are made at the public Council meetings which are held each month. All meetings are held in the Council Chambers at 296 Peats Ferry Road (formerly Pacific Highway), Hornsby. The meetings start at 6.30pm.

How to speak at Council meetings

Members of the public are welcome to speak at every meeting. If you would like to speak about a matter on the agenda please advise the Meeting Attendant when you arrive. If you’d like to speak about an issue that’s not on the agenda please phone 9847 6836 or email hsc@hornsby.nsw.gov.au before 4pm on the day before the meeting.

Live streaming of Council Meetings

You can now view Council Meetings live from the comfort of your own home. As of 8 August 2018 General Meetings of Council will be live streamed from the Council Chambers and viewable at http://hornsby.webcastcloud.tv. You are also able to access archived meetings (for the preceding six months). Confidential sessions of Council Meetings will not be broadcast. If the webcast stream goes black during a meeting, this means that Council has entered into confidential session.

Hornsby Council accepts no liability for any defamatory remarks that may be made during the course of the meeting.

View Council Meetings http://hornsby.webcastcloud.tv

How to access business papers

Council’s business papers include the reports and staff recommendations for each item to be considered by Council, while the attachments contain further details such as plans and photographs. The reports and attachments are published on Council’s website nine days before each meeting.

The minutes of the meeting detail Council’s decisions about those items and are published on the website by 5pm on the Friday following the meeting.

Go to business papers and minutes (from October 2008 to now)

Minutes only for the period 1906 – 2008 are available below.

Council Meeting Minutes 1906-2008

For full Business Papers for the period 1997 – 2008, please contact Council’s Access to Information Team on 98476027 or email GIPA@hornsby.nsw.gov.au.

Planning decisions register

Council also maintains a separate register of decisions about planning matters.

Audio recording of Council Meetings

All Council meetings are audio recorded and the recordings, excluding any confidential items, are available on the website (see below). Council makes every effort to ensure the full meeting is included in the recording. However, the equipment occasionally experiences malfunctions and Council cannot
guarantee the meeting is always recorded in its entirety.

Hornsby Local Planning Panel Meetings

Business Papers, Minutes and Audio Recordings in respect of matters determined by the Hornsby Local Planning Panel.