Councillors
Your Councillors represent you: the Community.
The Shire of Gingin is served by a Council consisting of a Shire President and eight Councillors who are elected by popular vote to represent your community.
The Shire's Councillors work together as a team to represent the interests of the Shire as a whole. Once a decision is made by Council it is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer to see that decision implemented.
The Role of Council
Western Australia’s Constitution requires that the State Government establish local governments to provide services for the community.
Local Governments are the closest tier of government to the community and are established under the Local Government Act 1995. This Act sets out that the general functions of a local government are to:
- Provide for good government;
- Provide services and facilities to meet the community's needs;
- Deliver services effectively and efficiently; and
- Be accountable to the community.
A Local Government comprises two parts – a Council and an Administration.
The Council is responsible for:
- Setting the strategic direction of the council;
- Determining the range and scope of services to be provided;
- Approving the Annual Budget;
- Ensuring an appropriate administration structure; and
- Adopting policies.
The Council is made up of Councillors (also known as elected members) and the President or Mayor. Our Council is led by a President, (Towns and Cities are led by Mayors). For information on how Councillors are elected to serve on Council, please visit our Local Government Elections page.
The President does not have any more power than other Councillors but does have extra duties to perform such as chairing Council meetings, carrying out civic and ceremonial functions, liaising with the CEO and speaking on behalf of the local government.
The duties of a Councillor are to:
- Represent the interests of electors, ratepayers and residents;
- Provide leadership and guidance to the community;
- Facilitate communication between the community and the Council; and
- Participate in the local government’s decision-making processes at Council and committee meetings.
Councillors have no power to act individually and decisions are made collectively at Council meetings.
The Administration is responsible for:
- Implementing the decisions made by Council;
- Day to day management of services and facilities;
- All administrative tasks;
- Employment of individual staff members;
- Expenditure of money; and
- Maintenance of public records.
The Administration is headed by the CEO and is made up of Executive Managers, Managers and other officers.
Enquiries
Contact the Shire on (08) 9575 5100.