Council meetings go remote, elections postponed

Our current crop of councillors will be with us for a further 12 months after the local government term was extended in the face for the COVID-19 crisis.

Local government elections were to take place in September, but they have now been postponed until September 2021.

The NSW Government ​has also cleared the way for local councils to legally make decisions without having the councillors together in the one room.

Orange City Council CEO David Waddell said they are already investigating what will be the best way forward.

“The technology to stage virtual meetings is now commonplace, so we'll be weighing up the options,” said Mr Waddell.

“We do want to use an option where community members can at least watch the debate. We're already able to do that by live streaming. We will also look at ways community members can speak on issues before council, as is the case with the public forums when council meets face to face.”

The next meeting is scheduled for 7 April and Mr Waddell said they are working towards that date​, but he did indicate it may be necessary to postpone it.

Robertson Park Toilet

The proverbial may have hit the fan, but at least we’ll all have somewhere to go!

Progress has been made on the much talked about public toilet block in Robertson Park. Debate over whether to proceed with building the amenities occupied an inordinate amount of Council’s time, but work on the $195,000 amenities finally kicked off in January. Here’s to happier times ahead when we can gather in the park for one of Orange’s famous night markets.