We all make decisions every day. Do I get out of bed? Do I have toast or cereal? Do I bother to watch the last Ashes Test after the embarrassing defeat in the fourth Test? These are all decisions which don’t require a lot of thought and the consequences are essentially individual. Toast or cereal probably just has an impact on me – or maybe a few people in my household if I use up all the milk on my cereal. Decision-making therefore may not sound like that big a deal.

There are different levels of decision though. Every month there are 1,480 Councillors who sit at the 152 Councils in the State and make decisions at their Council meetings. It may be argued that some of these decisions are routine or allowing the process of local government to continue. At most Council meetings though there are decisions that are of great importance to the City or impact many residents within the City.

How does decision making work? There have been vast amounts of psychological studies conducted into the process and trying to identify the steps that humans take. The most commonly held belief is that humans go through a seven step process. Firstly, a problem or opportunity is identified. In a Council scenario, that is often brought to the surface by information presented in business papers that Councillors receive and read before Council or committee meetings. The second step is typically the gathering of information. This is the most time-consuming for a Councillor. Residents and other interested stakeholders will call, e-mail or meet with Councillors – both individually or in groups. Information is presented from Council staff in the business papers. Media outlets may cover the issue. Public submissions are often sought and encouraged so further information is gathered. Different levels of government and government departments may add to the amount of information available. Many Councillors use social media where more information is presented. In short, Councillors are typically inundated with information from a variety of sources – some more reliable than others – to help with the decision making process.

And we are only up to step two.

Step three involves the analysis of the information. This is where Councillors need to sort the wheat from the chaff in relation to the information gathered. Is some of the information biased? What are the facts versus opinions? How much weight is given to the opinions? Are there short-term sacrifices needed for long-term benefits? Can the data be interpreted differently? Does the overall good outweigh the needs of a few? Is there another alternative that may well be a better solution? The analysis is a complicated process when there are so many interested parties in many of our decisions and the impacts of the decision may well be felt for years to come.

Step four involves the development of options. This takes the information from the previous two steps and helps formulate solutions. For Councillors, the solutions may come from some of the Councillor group or a combination or solutions from the Councillor group or they may be solutions presented by the Council staff. Solutions can be creative and hopefully positive and Councillors will often ask “what if” questions. What if Council tried this type of approach? What would the implications be?

Getting closer to the end of the process, Councillors evaluate the range of alternatives. Sometimes the options might simply be a yes or no to a proposal. More often than not, the alternatives to evaluate are a range of options that are more likely to involve a yes with conditions rather than the binary yes or no. Solutions are evaluated for feasibility; acceptability and desirability. Ultimately, Councillors try and decide which alternative best achieves the initial objectives.

Step six is the tough one. The selection of the preferred alternative. Incredible pressure can be mounted on Councillors from various stakeholders. The public gallery can be full of people glaring at Councillors ready to put their hands up to vote one way or the other. Opinion polls can be showing what sections of the public think. What are the risks of a decision being made – one way or the other? What are the potential benefits of different decisions?

Lastly, step seven is to act on the decision. Once Councillors have made a decision this one is largely up to the staff and the proponents to go through a process and put a plan in place to implement the decision.

At our extraordinary Council meeting on Monday night, a particularly tough issue was presented to Councillors where we could all see that mutually exclusive viewpoints all had valid points. Several Councillors commented during the debate that it is tough being a Councillor but, ultimately, Councillors are in a position to make a decision. No decision is still a decision and, in my belief, a bad decision. The next time you are criticising your local Councillors for their latest “terrible decision”, spare a thought for the tough position that Councillors find themselves in and think about the process involved in arriving at a decision.

Tell me if you think there is an easier way to make good decisions at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

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