A Message to Cherbourg Residents, Service Providers and Stakeholders
It is important to understand what the job of Cherbourg Council is, the part we play in community, the difference between being an elected official (Mayor, Deputy and Councillors) the job of our CEO, Management and Council workers…. what we can do and more importantly what cannot do.
Think of the local government in Queensland like a big school project where everyone has a different job to do.
Separation of Powers means that the jobs everyone does are split into two different parts, kind of like how you might split up the work in a group project.
- Councillors (including the Mayor) our elected officials: They are like the team leaders of the project (community). They come up with big ideas and make important decisions about what the project should look like and what it needs to do. They’re chosen by the people in the community, just like how you might vote for a class president.
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Management and Council Employees: They are like the people who take the big ideas from the team leaders (Councillors and make them happen. They do the everyday work that’s needed to turn the plans into reality. They’re kind of like the people in your group project who take the plan and turn it into a finished poster or presentation.
When it comes to how the public (that’s everyone in the community) can interact with the councillors and local government, think of it like this:
- The public can talk to the councillors (the team leaders) about their ideas and concerns. This can be like telling the class president or school captain what things they want for the project (community).
- The councillors listen to what the public wants and then make decisions about what to do.
- The CEO and Council workers (the doers) then take those decisions and turn them into action. They don’t usually interact with the public directly about their work, much like how you wouldn’t ask someone who’s doing roadworks or collecting rubbish to also answer questions about the project.
So that’s it! The separation of powers is like dividing up the jobs in a big school project so that everyone knows what they need to do. It helps everything run smoothly and fairly.
