For Interim CEO Phil Stone, effective local government comes back to a clear responsibility: carrying out the decisions of council in a timely and accountable way.

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When Phil arrived at Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council, meeting processes were fragmented. Agendas were prepared using Word templates, reports were managed as separate documents and information was distributed to councillors across email, the council website and Teams folders.

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Introducing Resolve has brought these processes together, providing a clear structure for preparing meetings, sharing information, recording decisions and tracking the resulting actions.

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Phil shares how Resolve is helping Woorabinda strengthen its governance processes and establish a system that can continue supporting the organisation after his time as Interim CEO comes to an end.

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From a Painful Process to a Structured System​

Before Resolve, coordinating meetings and ensuring councillors had the right information was difficult and time-consuming. Agendas were created in Word, with individual reports uploaded separately and then distributed to councillors through different channels. This made it difficult to maintain a clear meeting record and left councillors uncertain about where to find the information they needed.

 

“Life before Resolve was painful,” he said. “Now, it is much more structured and very easy to use. We were preparing agendas from Word templates and providing reports separately through the website, email or Teams folders. It was a disaster, and councillors didn’t always know what was going on.”

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Resolve has replaced that fragmented approach with one place for councillors to access agendas, participate in meetings and view the resulting minutes and actions.

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“At least now we have structure and can clearly see the decisions being made.”

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“Life before Resolve was painful. At least now we have structure and can clearly see the decisions being made"​​​​​​ 

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Building Processes that will last

As Interim CEO, Phil’s focus extends beyond making meetings easier to manage today. He also wants to leave Woorabinda with reliable processes that staff can confidently continue using in the future.

“Resolve makes it much easier for me to coordinate meetings. More importantly, I’ll be able to leave knowing the council has a clear process in place.”

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“Resolve makes it much easier for me to coordinate meetings. More importantly, I’ll be able to leave knowing the council has a clear process in place.”​

Staff are progressively taking greater responsibility for preparing their own reports as they become more familiar with the system. Resolve’s templates provide a consistent structure while making reports easier to create and progress through the meeting cycle.

“It is much easier to write reports through Resolve than through the systems and processes we were previously using.”​​

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Clear information for Councillors

Phil believes a strong meeting management system is essential because the information provided to councillors directly influences the quality of their decisions.

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“It is vital to have a good system managing your meeting agendas and the information you provide to councillors.”

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“It is vital to have a good system managing your meeting agendas and the information you provide to councillors.”​

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Resolve gives councillors direct access to their agendas through the portal, without relying on separate Word documents or searching across multiple channels.

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“I really like that Resolve provides templates without producing separate Word documents. It creates an agenda that elected members can access directly through their portal.”

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Councillors can log in, join the meeting, review the information presented to them and access the minutes once they become available. This creates a much clearer record of the matters council considered and the decisions it made.

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Strengthening Accountability

For Phil, the value of Resolve continues after the meeting finishes. Council can track each decision and monitor the progress of the actions that follow.

“Ultimately, I am accountable to the council. Councillors need to see the issues they have considered, the decisions they have made and the progress against those decisions.”

Woorabinda also uses Resolve to support meetings for its wholly owned pastoral company, which manages approximately 48,000 acres of pastoral land. Separate action views help the organisation monitor outstanding council actions and those relating to the pastoral company’s board.

Phil can create a snapshot of actions, save the view and include it directly within the relevant meeting. This gives councillors and board members a clearer picture of what remains outstanding and what has progressed since their previous meeting.

“If you boil down the role of a CEO in local government, it is to fulfil the will of the council and carry out its decisions in a timely manner. Resolve allows councillors to see every decision they have made and the status of it.”

 

“If you boil down the role of a CEO in local government, it is to fulfil the will of the council and carry out its decisions in a timely manner.”​

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Making Minutes Easier

Resolve has also simplified the process of recording and producing minutes.

“Capturing minutes is incredibly easy. You could almost do it with your eyes closed. I really like the minutes-producing side of Resolve.”

By managing agendas, meetings, minutes and actions within the same system, Woorabinda can maintain a clearer connection between the information presented, the decisions made and the work that follows.

 

Supporting Councillors Through Change

Woorabinda experienced significant councillor turnover following the most recent election. This reinforced the importance of providing elected members with clear information and a meeting process that helps them understand their governance responsibilities.

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Phil believes it is the organisation’s responsibility to give councillors the structure and information they need to make informed decisions.

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“Governance is about clear decision-making and providing objective information to the elected body so councillors can make the decisions they believe are right. Resolve supports that process very well.”

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With agendas, minutes, decisions and actions available through one system, councillors can more easily understand what council has considered and follow the progress of its decisions.

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“Governance is about clear decision-making and providing objective information to the elected body so councillors can make the decisions they believe are right. Resolve supports that process very well.”​

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A System That Makes Sense

Resolve has given Woorabinda a more structured meeting process and a clearer governance record. It has also provided the foundation for staff and councillors to work with greater consistency and accountability.
For Phil, the value of that structure is clear.

“Any new council I work with, I’ll be looking at putting Resolve in place. It just makes sense. It works.”

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“Any new council I work with, I’ll be looking at putting Resolve in place. It just makes sense. It works.”​