Date: 20 June, 2012

Councillors keen for pre-meeting coffee, chat

Northland Regional Council members are hoping members of the public will take advantage of an offer to catch up with them for an informal chat and a coffee ahead of their regular monthly meetings.

Chairman Craig Brown says while members of the public have always been free to make appointments to formally address council meetings or meet councillors as required, he and his colleagues are also keen to offer a regular, less formal, forum for a cuppa and chat.

“With that in mind, we thought we’d offer an open invitation to any members of the public to join us for a quick catch up in the 15 minutes or so before our monthly meetings.”

Mr Brown says while a small hard core of several council watchers attends most regional council meetings, it would be nice to see more members of the public taking an interest.

“Having informal pre-meetings will allow us to chat to people about the various issues of the day – or anything else they want to raise with us - without being potentially constrained by the time constraints, rules or standing orders that can sometimes govern formal meetings.”

He says agendas for council meetings are normally posted online several days before meetings at www.nrc.govt.nz/agendas

Caption for electronic image ‘Warren Slater and Bill Rossiter - 20120619’

Veteran council watcher, Warren Slater of Whangarei, left, and regional councillor Bill Rossiter share a laugh and a cuppa before the council’s monthly meeting in Whangarei yesterday. (subs: Tues 19 June) Regional councillors are hoping more members of the public will share an informal pre-meeting coffee and chat with them in future.

ENDS

© Scoop Media