VPRS 9533 Council Minutes

Minutes of council meetings were created in accordance with section 145 of the Municipal Institutions Act 1863 (27 Vic., No.184) and with subsequent legislation relating to local government including the Local Government Act 1958 (No.6299). Many local government bodies in existence prior to 1863 maintained records of their meetings in the form of minutes.These Acts required that for each meeting of council, minutes of all proceedings were recorded together with the names of all councillors present and all who vote for and against motions. This master set of minutes was also required to be signed by the mayor or chairman of the meeting once the minutes have been confirmed at the following council or committee meeting.The minutes related to the wide range of activities for which the council was responsible, including building, community services, collection of rates, property valuation, and town planning. The council may have appointed committees, such as a finance committee, a general purposes committee, a public works committee or a health committee to manage and report upon an aspect of its operation. Such committees submitted reports to the council regularly and these were often included in the council minutes.Committee MinutesAt many Councils, the minutes of committee meetings were recorded in separate volumes. In other cases, the minutes of most committees were recorded in the council minute books, either in lieu of or in addition to committee reports. Some councils varied their practice over time. Where committee minutes were maintained in separate volumes they constitute a separate series from the council minutes.