By Ethan Benedicto
Following the City of Casey’s Tuesday, 18 March online meeting, the mayor, Stefan Koomen, gave insight on the progress that was made, and the regrets over not having a gallery.
Before the meeting began at 6pm, Koomen reiterated that the online nature was decided through the advice of Victoria Police, something that, as a collective council, was not made lightly.
“We want to hold our council meetings in person,” Koomen said.
“The key message was that it was a public meeting, it was open for residents to view online.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to have a gallery, but we were able to conduct our business.”
Speaking on the amount of public questions that were submitted, Koomen added that it shows the amount and depth of interest from the residents on the council’s actions.
He said that it’s “also a reflection of the last five years where members of the community didn’t have access to councillors”.
“Now that we’re back, (I think) there’s probably a view that that’s the way to engage with us.
“While that’s one way, we’d actually encourage residents to just reach out to us and discuss any concerns,” he said.
With their contact details, from councillors’ emails to phone numbers, readily available online through the Casey Council website, Koomen emphasised and urged residents with concerns to simply have a chat.
“We’re keen to hear from residents and their concerns, and you can contact us and not have to wait until the next monthly meeting to get a response,” he said.
Koomen touched on the major issues, from the waste transfer station, but put emphasis on the local laws.
He said that the hoped residents “can say that we have made significant decisions and we have addressed some of the long-standing concerns that they have about a number of historical issues”.
“These are issues that were from before we were elected as their new councillors, so I think it’s all about the actions that we’re taking and we hope the residents see and understand that we’re working in their best interests,” he said.
He reflected on the progress that the council made, and what it would have been like if there were further disruptions from a gallery if the meeting was held in person.
“If the meeting wasn’t able to go ahead due to disruptions… then we wouldn’t have been able to make the actions we did to represent an improved community,” he said.
“As a mayor, I really wanted to make sure that that (meeting) was able to take place, we couldn’t have another month without being able to represent our community.”
Moving forward, there are hopes that future meetings such as the upcoming April gathering, can be held in person.
Leading to that, Koomen said that he and the rest of the council are looking to “do things transparently and with good governance”.
