Council Meeting Processes

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas for meetings of Council must be available at least two working days prior to the scheduled meeting (except in cases of extraordinary meetings). Agendas are available to view at all Council offices and on Council’s portal.

Minutes of meetings must be kept as evidence of the proceedings of the meeting. These must be made publicly available, subject to the provisions of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

Unconfirmed minutes are available once they have been reviewed by the Chief Executive after the meeting. Minutes are confirmed for correctness at a subsequent meeting and will be updated if any changes are made.

Standing Orders

Council, Committee, and Community Board Meetings must abide by a set of Standing Orders as adopted at the beginning of the triennium. Standing Orders are a set of rules and procedures that provide a formal framework for the conduct of local authority meetings and ensure that our system of local democracy and decision-making within local government is transparent and accountable.

Ruapehu District Council adopted its Standing Orders 1 August 2024

The Community Boards adopted their Standing Orders 1 August 2024

A note on Standing Orders: At the time of updating this Governance Statement (January 2026), the government has proposed the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, which would introduce standardised codes of conduct and standing orders across all councils. Council's current Standing Orders remain in effect until any changes are legislated.

Public Attendance at Meetings

All Council meetings including any Community Board Meetings are generally open to the public, unless there is a reason for public to be excluded. Council meetings are not public meetings but are conducted in public.

Members of the public are not permitted to speak at any time during meetings, unless invited to do so by the Chairperson. If you wish to speak at a meeting, you must first get permission from the Mayor or Chairperson of the relevant committee or community board.

Public Forums

Public forums are a defined period of time, usually at the start of an ordinary meeting, which at the discretion of the chairperson, may be set aside for public input. When a public forum is held, it enables you to bring matters of your choice to the attention of Council—these don't have to be on the meeting's agenda.

Where a public forum is provided, we typically allocate 30 minutes for public participation. This is an opportunity to raise matters of concern with your elected representatives and comment on agenda items. Each individual or group is allowed five minutes to speak. Speakers are listed on a first-come, first-served basis, and we hear as many speakers as possible within the allocated time

Observing Meetings

Members of the public and the press are welcome to attend the public portions of meetings. When there is business that must be discussed in private (public excluded), you will be asked to leave for that part of the meeting.

Further information can be found here