NRS-16875 | Works Committee minutes and reports [Leichhardt Council]

This series consists of volumes containing minutes of meetings of the Works Committee of Leichhardt Council, and reports made by the committee to the Council in the form of itemised recommendations.The minutes cover the period from September 1883 to April 1953. Between 1 November 1893 and 1 April 1896 the Works Committee intermittently combined its meetings with those of the Sanitary Committee of Leichhardt Council. On these occasions the committee is referred to as the Works and Sanitary Committee. At other points during this period, separate minutes for each committee were kept however the minutes are recorded in the same volume.Throughout the series the minutes and reports are arranged chronologically, by date of meeting. Meeting dates and times and the names of persons attending the meetings are routinely recorded. Generally, the minutes and reports have been signed by the committee Chairman. The reports have usually been either annotated or stamped to record particulars of the forwarding of the recommendations to Council.The Works Committee was established before the start date of the existing records in the series. The Council minutes of 21 February 1872 (1) 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.'Matters dealt with by the committee included: the erection and placement of street gas lamps; street formation, widening and alignment; construction, maintenance and repair of water tables, drainage pipes, footpaths, kerbs, gutters, bridges, retaining walls, fences, gully shafts, wharfs, road crossings and subways, etc.; street ballasting and metalling; street diversions; handling of complaints, petitions, and applications for compensation from residents; encroachments onto council property; contributions towards works costs by other organisations and residents; applications for erection of awnings, placement of water troughs etc; preparation of tenders and estimates; resumption of land; financing of works and funds expenditure; site inspections; working of the Council quarry (Moore Street); correspondence with the Water and Sewerage Board, Public Works Department, other councils etc; and lease of recreational areas to sporting clubs (eg Leichhardt Men's Brotherhood Cricket Club, Metropolitan Church Rugby Union Club).Section 109 of the Municipalities Act of 1867 (Act 31 Vic. No.12, 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 reports and recommendations document the decisions made by the Committee at its meetings. The minutes of each meeting of the Committee were confirmed at the following committee meeting and signed by the chairman to guarantee that they were a true and accurate record.However such recommendations were not binding upon Council. The Committee's recommendations were normally submitted to the next Council meeting. Council could reject the recommendation, send the recommendation back to the committee for further discussion, amend the recommendation, or accept the recommendation. The recommendations were not binding upon Council unless, and until, adopted by Council as shown in the minutes of the Council meeting. Endnote1. Held by Leichhardt Council.