4.9.2 Role of the Office of the Mayor

The role of the Office of the Mayor is to assist him/her in performing mayoral duties professionally and effectively.
The Office of the Mayor performs several functions:
- Administrative assistance - supporting the mayor in managing the full range of issues and responsibilities arising in the course of a day. These include diary management, correspondence, travel arrangements, liaison with other elected members and council staff, and generally managing the flow of mayoral business.
- Communications assistance - providing public relations, publicity and information services, including communications advice, preparing speeches and media releases, media liaison and social media.
- Policy and political advice - providing free and frank policy and political advice to the mayor, maintaining a strategic overview of council business, liaising with council staff, and consulting with other groups. Staff may also assist in gathering support for the mayor’s proposals and policies within the council.
Staff members, including political staff, are subject to council policies on involvement in elections and politics. The office of the mayor should not be directly involved in election campaigns run by the mayor (e.g. organising campaign events or fundraising) during work hours. The office’s role is not to assist the mayor’s re-election but to support him/her in performing the role professionally and effectively.