QUESTIONS asked by the public at town council meeting will now be answered within seven days, “if possible”.
Answers to questions will be shared publically on the town council’s website, and if it is not possible to provide an answer within the seven days, a reason will be given and information noted about when an answer can be expected.
It is hoped that the new policy for public questions will alleviate concerns about the council’s “transparency”, which has been called into question due to a backlog of unanswered questions from recent meetings.
At an extraordinary meeting of the full town council earlier this month, cllr Sue Brown said, “[Let’s] show the public that we are determined to improve our communication with them and for them.”
Councillors also agreed that a new logging system for public questions be created – a register that will log each question asked, assigning it a number.
“It will make it much easier to keep track of what is happening with those questions,” explained cllr Jon Hubbard.
Questions from councillors, which have recently eaten into the 15 minutes allowed for public questions, will now have to be written in advance of the meeting and sent to the town clerk.
