Governance
What is Governance?
Governance is the way by which an organisation is held accountable.
In Local Government, governance involves the ways in which the staff
members are accountable to the Elected Council and the Elected members
and staff members are accountable to the community. The Local Government
Act (“the Act”) sets out a governance framework including policies,
meeting procedures, public consultation requirements, reporting
(financial and non-financial), and the roles and responsibilities within
the Council. It is the responsibility of the Elected Council to
“achieve and maintain standards of good public administration” (section
8k of the Act). Good governance is critical to prevent corruption and
maladministration. Thorpe St. Andrew Town Council thoroughly supports a
good governance framework to ensure that it is open, accountable and
transparent in its interactions with its community, businesses, other
tiers of government and staff. The Town Clerk and administration staff
members are given powers by the Elected Council to assist in the
achievement and maintenance of good governance through delegated powers.