NRS-16863 | Minutes of the General Purposes Committee [Leichhardt Council]

This series consists of the minutes from meetings of the General Purposes Committee of Leichhardt Municipal Council.Section 109 of the Municipalities Act of 1867 (Act No.12a, 1867), which was assented to on 23 December 1867, allowed municipal councils to appoint either standing committees or occasional (special) committees, composed of councillors, and to delegate to the committees 'any inquiry negotiation or arrangement or power to do any emergent act or to carry out any work which such Council may have ordered agreed to or directed'. However, Committees had to report to the council at the earliest opportunity. The Leichhardt Council minutes of 21/02/1872 state that the 'Council proceeded to elect Committees for the ensuing municipal year.' The motion was then carried that 'the Committees of Finance, Works, By Laws and General Purposes consist of the whole council.'The General Purpose Committee minutes are contained within two volumes and arranged chronologically. The early minutes are mainly written in long hand while the later minutes are typed copies. The minutes are generally signed by the Committee chairman. Details recorded include the meeting date, names of persons attending the meeting, and particulars of recommendations made by and other business dealt with by the Committee. Matters dealt with by the Committee are wide ranging and include staff salaries, employment of staff, construction and maintenance works, compensation claims, complaints about staff, allegations of misconduct, tenders and specifications, consideration of reports submitted by other committees, street lighting, garbage collection, cemetery operations, street alignments, land resumptions and building ordinances. A subcommittee of the General Purposes Committee was created on 7 August 1911 in order to consider draft agreements and enquiries regarding private lighting and power. The subcommittee consisted of the Mayor and four Aldermen. It met only once on 23 August 1911. The minutes of this meeting are held with the minutes of the General Purposes Committee.