One third of the Central Coast ‘s fifteen councillors have attended all 26 council meetings and five extraordinary meetings since being elected in September 2017.
Gosford East had been represented by all three councillors at every meeting until the first meeting of 2019 when Cr Rebecca Gale Collins was absent.
Mayor Jane Smith and Cr Jeff Sundstrom, have attended all meetings.
Wyong ward is next best with Cr Chris Burke missing six meetings but with Cr Kyle MacGregor and Cr Louise Greenaway attending all.
Cr Burke attended the January 29 meeting in a wheel chair and declared he was AWOL from hospital. He left the meeting early, after the Winney Bay rescission debate, to return to hospital but was back on deck for the February 11 meeting.
Two wards with least representation at the meetings due to councillor absences are Gosford West with 13 absences and Budgewoi with 11 absences.
Budgewoi had five absences from Cr Doug Vincent; four from Cr Jillian Hogan and two from Cr Greg Best.
In the Gosford West ward, Cr Troy Marquart had eight medical leave absences after he fell off a roof in 2017. At the February 11, 2019, meeting, he foreshadowed another missed meeting coming up due to needing another operation on his leg.
Cr Chris Holstein was away for three meetings and Cr Richard Mehrtens for two.
The Entrance ward has had seven meetings missed: four by Cr Lisa Matthews and three by Cr Jilly Pilon but Cr Bruce McLachlan has been at every meeting. Cr Matthews has foreshadowed missing a meeting soon due to needing an operation, on the same day as Cr Marquart’s op.
Below is the list of Councillors in ward order and their attendance record at council meetings. A √ means they have attended all meetings.
Updated after the February 11, 2019, meeting.
Gosford West Ward
Troy Marquart: absent: 8 (Medical leave of absence for 7)
- Missed November 2017 meeting due to a medical emergency.
- Apology: January 29 meeting due to medical issues.
- Applied for leave of absence via Councillor Chris Burke addressing council on February 12, 2018.
- Feb 26, 2018
- March 12, 2018
- March 26, 2018 (Returned April 9 meeting.)
- April 11, 2018 Extraordinary meeting.
- September 10, 2018
Chris Holstein: absent: 3
- May 14, 2018
- August 27, 2018
- October 8, 2018
Richards Mehrtens: 2
- July 23, 2018
- November 26, 2108
Gosford East Ward
Jane Smith (Mayor): √
Rebecca Gale Collins: 1
- January 29 meeting, 2019
Jeff Sundstrom: √
The Entrance Ward
Lisa Matthews: absent: 4
- December 7, 2017
- June 25, 2018
- July 23, 2018
- September 10, 2018
Jilly Pilon: absent: 3
- June 25, 2018
- September 10, 2018
- November 26, 2018
Bruce McLachlan: √
Wyong Ward
Kyle MacGregor: √
Louise Greenaway: √
Chris Burke: absent: 6
- April 9, 2018.
- July 9, 2018
- July 23. 2018
- September 10, 2018
- November 26, 2018 (Medical leave)
- December 10, 2018 (Medical leave)
Budgewoi Ward
Doug Vincent: absent: 4
- January 15. 2018.
- April 11, 2018, extraordinary meeting.
- April 23, 2018 ordinary meeting.
- November 12, 2018 ordinary meeting
- February 11, 2019 ordinary meeting.
Jillian Hogan: absent: 4
- October 23, 2017.
- December 7, 2017.
- January 29, 2018.
- August 27, 2018.
Greg Best: absent: 2
- October 23, 2017.
- August 27, 2018.
The first meeting of the Central Coast Council was the extraordinary meeting held on September 25, 2017 where the mayor and the deputy mayor were elected.
So far the council has held:
extraordinary meetings: 5 (Last one April 11, 2018)
ordinary meetings: 26 (Last one February 11, 2019)
The May 28, 2018, meeting extended to June 4 and June 4 isn’t counted as a new meeting.
The CEO Gary Murphy attended his first meeting on July 9, 2018.
Central Coast Council Watch was started by me, retired journalist Merilyn Vale, when the councillors were elected in 2017.
I upload FB accounts of each meeting in the hope that those posts will form a database for voters to assess the councillors’ contributions.
I will also start a log of all rescission motions from this year, starting with the Winney Bay rescission motion which failed to get the votes at the first meeting of 2019. Meeting finished about 11.35pm.
The second meeting of 2019, on Feb 11, finished before 9.30pm. No rescission motions and no confidential items.
Updated February 12, 2019.
