A former council manager has challenged current administration to break trend and engage with technology after questioning the viability of scheduled council meetings and information sessions ahead of September’s elections.
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It comes after former councillor Michael Twomey criticised Cootamundra’s “me-generation” for its lack of engagement with local government.
Though Twomey’s comments prompted widespread community discussion, Barry Turner believes there’s a far simpler reason for the absence of youth in council leadership.
“Traditionally, a lot of councillors have been business people in rural areas from farming families,” Mr Turner said.
“These positions and the others mentioned by Michael are often self-employed, meaning they are able to make space in their working day for commitments such as council roles.
“Retirees and the unemployed also have that freedom to some extent in the sense that they are free from 9-5 constraints.”
A former facilities and services manager at the Cootamundra Shire Council, Turner supports the council’s efforts to engage digitally but says more can be done to encourgae non-traditional candidates.
“If the CGRC want to encourage a wider audience they must look at the realities of time constraints for regular employees,” he said.
“I would suggest that a couple of meetings at 7.30pm at night and perhaps one could be in the afternoon.
“The Digital Community Panel is a great step forwards but more digital tools (such as webcam meetings and document sharing) could be used to engage youth.”
When approached for comment, CGRC administrator Stephen Sykes said digital accessibility was now at the forefront of council operations.
“We now record and upload our council meetings to the internet and Facebook as close to the conclusion of the council meeting as possible to ensure access to as many in the community as possible,” he said.
“In the future these meetings will be live-streamed.”