Agenda for Annual Town Council Meeting – 14 May 2019 - Ilminster Town Council

The Annual Meeting of the Town Council will be held on Tuesday 14th May 2018 at the Council Chamber, Council Offices, North Street, Ilminster starting at 19:30 hrs.

The public are welcome to attend this meeting. Members of the public are invited to ask questions or raise issues relevant to the work of the Council. The overall time available for this session is restricted to 15 minutes unless the Chair decides otherwise. Individual speakers are restricted to 3 minutes and are asked not to repeat points that have been made previously. It is helpful if potential contributors can make themselves known to the Meeting Administrator before the meeting so that the session can be programmed effectively.

Public participation is not part of the formal meeting of the Council however a note will be made of matters raised and recorded at the start of the minutes of the meeting.

The business to be transacted at the meeting is outlined on the Agenda below. Any reports listed as “to follow” will be made available as soon as possible, and in any event at least 30 minutes before the start of the meeting.

Yours sincerely

Joy Norris
Town Clerk
AGENDA
1. Election of Mayor To elect the Mayor for the period to the 2020 Annual Town Council meeting
2. Declaration of Acceptance of Office
To receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office by the Mayor
3. Appointment of Deputy Mayor
To appoint the Deputy Mayor for the period to the 2020 Annual Town Council meeting
4. Apologies for Absence
To receive apologies for absence from Councillors unable to attend the meeting.
5. Declarations of Interest
To receive any declarations from Councillors and Officers of interests in respect of
matters to be considered at this meeting, together with an appropriate statement
regarding the nature of the interest.
6. Minutes
a) To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 23rd April 2019 as a correct record (to
follow)
b) To consider the Office Action Plan relating to the Town Council Meetings.
(to follow)
7. Mayor’s Announcements/Engagements
a) The Mayor (incoming) will make announcements relevant to Town Council and
Mayoral activities and engagements
b) The Mayor (outgoing) attended engagements between 13 March 2019 – 7 May 2019
as detailed on the Mayor’s Engagements Sheet (Attached)
8. Police Report
This agenda item provides an opportunity for the Police to report on any matters
relevant to policing in Ilminster.
9. Update From Neighbourhood Plan Development Group
To receive an update from the Neighbourhood Plan Development Group including
information on recent and future activities and any expenditure requests. (To follow)
10. Review of the Town Council Decision Making Structure.
In May 2018 the Town Council made changes to its decision making structure, most
notably to the number of Councillors sitting on committees and the frequency of
meetings. At its meeting on 20 November 2018 the Town Council considered the
effectiveness of the way in which councillors and committees were working and
resolved that “….no change is made to the decision-making structure currently in
operation and that any review should not take place until after the May 2019 elections.”
This agenda item provides the opportunity to re-assess the impact of the changes
made in May 2018 and decide whether or not any changes are required.
11. Standing Orders
To review and approve the Town Council’s Standing Orders (Attached)
12. Financial Regulations
To review and approve the Town Council’s Financial Regulations (Attached)
13. Council and Committee Terms of Reference
To review and approve the Town Council’s Council and Committee Terms of
Reference (Attached)
14. Scheme of Delegations
To review and approve the Town Council’s Scheme of Delegation (Attached)
15. Asset Register
To consider the Town Council’s Asset Register (To follow)
16. General Power of Competence
To confirm that Ilminster Town Council meets the eligibility criteria and resolves to
adopt the General Power of Competence. (Attached)
17. Appointment of Committees
a) Open Spaces Committee (The Committee appointed in May 2018 comprised
Councillors Burton, Dewick, Gunn, James, Shepherd, Swann, Taylor and White)
b) Planning, Highways and Transport Committee (The Committee appointed in May
2018 comprised Councillors Belobaba, Burton, Fagan, James, Mackillop, Shearman,
Taylor and Walker)
c) Resources Committee (The Committee appointed in May 2018 comprised Councillors
Belobaba, Dewick, Fagan, Gunn, Keitch, Shepherd Swann and Walker)
d) Grievance, Capability and Disciplinary Committee – The Chair of this Committee is
the Deputy Mayor as an ex officio appointment; the Committee requires 2 other
members when it meets (making a Committee of 3) (The Councillors appointed in May
2018 were Belobaba, Gunn, James and Shearman)
e) Appeals Committee – This committee requires 3 members when it meets. The
precedent is that the Mayor would chair this Committee (unless they were involved in the
appeal issue / topic). (The Councillors appointed in May 2018 were the Mayor as an ex
officio member, Dewick, Makillop, Shepherd and Swann)
Note: The Town Council meeting will be adjourned at this point to enable the Open
Spaces, the Planning, Highways and Transport and the Resources Committees
to meet and elect their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.
18. Committee Chairs & Vice Chairs
Dependent on any decisions made regarding Agenda No 10 Review of the Town
Council Decision Making Structure and Agenda No 13 Council and Committee Terms
of Reference,
The meeting will either
a) ratify the Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs elected by the Committees
or
b) elect the Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs
or
c) delegate completely the election of Chairs and Vice- Chairs to each
committee
19. Appointment of Councillors to Working Groups
To appoint Councillors to Working Groups:
a) Accommodation Working Group (The Councillors appointed in May 2018 were
The mayor (ex officio) Cllrs Fagan, Fowler, James, Shearman and Shepherd)
b) Licence Conditions Negotiations (The Councillors appointed in May 2018 were
Councillors Burton, James and Shearman)
c) Cemetery Working Group (The Councillors appointed in May 2018 were
Councillors Mackillop, Shepherd, Shearman and Swann)
d) Local Council Award Scheme Working Group (The Councillors appointed in May
2018 were Councillors Dewick, Fowler and Gunn)
20. Appointment Of Councillors to other Groups
To appoint Councillors to
a) Rec Users Group (Chair & Vice-Chair of Open Spaces Committee as ex
officio members, plus 3 other Town Councillors; Cllrs Keitch and Shearman
were appointed in March 2018)
b) Neighbourhood Plan Development Group – 3 Town Councillors (May 2018
Councillors James, Shepherd and Walker)
21. Appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies
To appoint representatives to various organisations; representatives on Outside Bodies
a) Arts Centre (2018/19 rep Cllr Fowler)
b) Chamber of Commerce (2018/19 rep Cllrs James and Walker with Cllr Swann as a
deputy)
c) Christmas Lights (2018/19 rep Cllr Swann)
d) Dementia Awareness Alliance 2018/19 rep Cllr Mackillop)
e) Fairtrade Committee (2018/19 rep Cllrs Burton, and Keitch with Cllr Walker as
deputy)
f) Greenfylde School Liaison (2018/19 rep Cllr Swann)
g) Ile Youth Centre (2018/19 rep Cllrs Burton, Gunn & Walker)
h) Ilminster Education Foundation (2018/19 reps Cllrs Swann and Shepherd)
i) Ilminster Entertainment Society (2018/19 rep Cllr Taylor)
j) Ilminster Literary Festival (2018/19 rep Cllr Keitch)
k) Ilminster Tourism (2018/19 rep Cllr Burton)
l) Market Town Investment Group (2018/19 rep Cllr Belobaba with Cllr James as
deputy)
m) Neroche Community Primary School (2018/19 rep Cllr Swann)
n) Partners and Communities Together (2018/19 rep Cllrs Keitch & Shepherd with
Cllrs James & Shearman as Deputies)
o) Somerset Association of Local Councils (2018/19 rep Cllrs Fowler and Walker)
p) Swanmead School (2018/19 rep Cllr Walker)
q) Wadham School Liaison (2018/19 rep Cllr Gunn)
22. Appointment of Authorisation for Bank and Investment Transactions
To appoint Councillors as signatories and online banking authorisers to the Town
Council’s bank accounts and investments; the current signatories are Councillors
Fowler, James, Keitch, Shepherd, Swann and Walker.
23. Calendar of Meetings 2019/20
To approve the calendar of meetings for the municipal year 19/20, the draft calendar
was agreed at the Town Council meeting on 22 January 2019. (Attached)
Note – changes may be necessary to the calendar dependant upon any decisions
made regarding Agenda No 10 Review of the Town Council Decision Making Structure
and Agenda No 13 Council and Committee Terms of Reference
24. Authorisation of Payments and Notification of Virements
The Schedule of Payments for authorisation is presented for Council’s approval.
(To Follow)
25. Arrangements for Co-Option
To consider the arrangements for co-opting 2 Councillors to fill the 2 vacant Town Council seats. On this occasion, there is no requirement for the Town Council to give Public Notice that there are vacancies to be filled. If the 2 vacancies are not filled by co-option by 27th June the District Council may order a fresh election to be held for the vacant positions.
*************************************