Willoughby City Council is celebrating a successful start to a trial period for changes to its Public and Open Forums.
At its Public and Open Forum held on the evening of Monday 17 March, a total of thirteen speakers addressed Council, with attendees joining both in person and online.
Willoughby City Council Mayor Tanya Taylor said the good rate of involvement at this event is an early indicator of the new format's potential for success.
"The number of speakers we saw registered and the productive conversation around important topics at the forum appears to be a good indication that this new format is being received well by the community," said Mayor Taylor.
"Our intended outcome for these changes is to improve governance, transparency, participation and engagement and from what we've seen already, it seems we're on the right track to big improvements in all of those areas."
Currently, residents can register to speak at a Public and Open Forum up to two business days prior to a scheduled event, with attendees able to join the meeting in person or online. At its meeting on 24 March, Council will consider a motion to delay this registration deadline to noon on the same day of the event.
