VPRS 15130 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 have required that for each meeting of council, minutes of all proceedings are recorded together with the names of all councillors present and all who vote for and against motions. The master set of minutes is also required to be signed by the mayor or chairman of the meeting once the minutes have been confirmed at the following council meeting. The minutes relate to the wide range of activities for which the council is responsible, including building, community services, collection of rates, property valuation and town planning.Some of the early records of meetings during the Board's first year of operation appear to be synopses of meeting proceedings rather than full minutes.NOTE: The first volume of this series also contains copies of outward correspondence (27 January 1856 - 16 October 1865) at one end and annual financial records (1856/57 - 1860/61) and rate records (1857-1858) at the other end. It is necessary to search for the minutes, which commence part-way through the volume.