Agenda and draft minutes

To receive nominations for the election of the Town Mayor for the 2021/22 Mayoral Year and to receive the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Council and Mayor will receive a blessing following the election of the Mayor. The exchange of mayoral chains and presenting of badges will take place at the earliest opportunity.

The outgoing Mayor, Cllr Christopher invited nominations for the election of the Town Mayor.

Cllr Fletcher was proposed by Cllr Evans and seconded by Cllr Garratt.

For: 7 votes

Cllr Katsande nominated herself and was seconded by Cllr Treharne.

For: 4 votes

It was resolved to elect Cllr Fletcher as the Town Mayor for the 2022/23 Mayoral Year and that the signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office will be effected as soon as possible after the meeting.

The new Mayor left the room, accompanied by the Macebearer and Town Clerk. When robed, the new Mayor, Mace Bearer and Town Clerk returned to continue the meeting with the new Mayor, Cllr Fletcher, as Chair.

Cllr Fletcher named her consort as Peter Fletcher.

Cllr Fletcher thanked members for their votes and stated that although this next term would be a difficult one in light of the recent economic hardships, she was hopeful that, with a new diverse Council, all members will have the same agenda which was ‘working for Monmouth’.

A blessing was conducted by Rev Bethany Willers to bless the new Mayor and Council.

To receive nominations and to elect a Deputy Town Mayor for the forthcoming year.

The new Mayor, Cllr Fletcher invited nominations for Deputy Town Mayor.

Cllr Kirton was proposed by Cllr Rist and was seconded by Cllr Garratt.

For: 6 votes

Cllr Ford was proposed by Cllr Major, there were no seconders.

Cllr Katsande proposed themselves and was seconded by Cllr Jones.

For: 4 votes

It was resolved to elect Cllr Kirton as the Deputy Town Mayor for the 2022/ 23 Mayoral Year.

To receive and accept apologies for absence.

An apology was received and accepted from Cllr James.

To receive declarations of interest in items on the agenda.

Cllr Treharne declared a personal interest in item 17h/FC/22 (Overmonnow Primary School)

Cllr Harkness declared a personal interest in item 17p/FC/22 (Mind Monmouthshire)

To receive questions from members of the public for a maximum of 10 minutes. (During  this time of hybrid meetings any members of public who wish to speak/ask a question must email their request in by the Friday prior to the meeting)

No requests to speak were received by members of the public.  

To appoint a Member/s to give notice of vacant seat/s for co option.

The Town Clerk explained that the Council still has 5 vacant seats and to fill these seats the Council would need to advertise through a process called co-option. It was requested that any person interested in putting themselves forward needs to do so by the 1^st July 2022 in readiness for the next Full Council meeting on the 4^th July 2022.

It was questioned whether the Council is obligated to go through the co-option process as it is not in the Standing Orders. The Town Clerk explained that it was advised by the Elections Officer at Monmouthshire County Council that we should complete the co-option process. Monmouth Town Council needs to have all 19 seats filled to ensure the whole electorate is represented appropriately, however, if we don’t have sufficient number of people stand for co-option then the Council would return to the Elections Officer for guidance on the next steps.

It was resolved to nominate Cllr Fletcher as Chair of the Council to give notice of the vacant seats for co-option.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Town Council meeting held on Tuesday 3^rd May 2022

It was resolved to confirm the minutes of the meeting on Tuesday 3^rd May 2022 as a true record.

a.    Payments

It was noted that both Town Clerks & RFOs had been given delegated authority to continue with regular payments and normal business whilst a new Council was being elected and these payments were shown in the reports provided.

It was resolved to approve the invoices for payment and the cashbook payments list from 7^th June 2022 to date.

b.    Budgets

The budget reports were considered by Councillors and queries were raised regarding the ongoing costs for the maintenance of the public toilets in Monmouth.

The Town Clerk confirmed that the budget had been set by the previous Council, and that the new Council would set the next budget in October 2022, however, it was noted that the new Council can review and amend this year’s budget.

It was resolved to note the budget expenditure by committee to date.

c.    Bank Reconciliations

It was resolved to approve the bank reconciliations for all cashbooks for 30^th April 2022.

To confirm signatories for the following Council accounts

(Minimum 4, Maximum 6)

It was noted that any signatories would need access to online banking and be available to sign in 3 to 4 times a month.

It was resolved to confirm the following Councillors as signatories for Lloyds Bank: Cllr Jones, Cllr Evans, Cllr Atkins and Cllr James.

(Minimum 2, Maximum 3)

It was resolved to confirm the following Councillors as signatories for Monmouthshire Building Society: Cllr Damon, Cllr Rist, Cllr Evans, Cllr James.

(Minimum 2, Maximum 4)

It was resolved to confirm the following Councillors as signatories for CCLA: Cllr Treharne, Cllr Rist and Cllr James

To review arrangements, including any charters and agency agreements, with other local authorities and review of contributions made to expenditure incurred by other local authorities (SO 5 (j) (xiii and xvii)).

Consideration was given to whether there would be a benefit to reviewing the contracts currently in place with Monmouthshire County Council to get better value for money.  The Town Clerk advised that it is possible for Council to review any contracts dependent on the terms of those contracts.  The Town Clerk advised that the biggest difficulty was availability of other suitable candidates for the same services.

It was resolved to note the Subscriptions to Other Bodies.

To consider and approve the scheme of delegation for committees and sub-committees (SO 5(j)(v,vi,viii,ix).

It was resolved to approve the Scheme of Delegation.

To confirm Councillor membership to the existing committees and sub-committees (SO 5(j)(vii). 

It was resolved that the following Councillors would be members of the F&P Committee: Cllr James, Cllr Ford, Cllr Katsande, Cllr Garratt, Cllr Rist, Cllr Evans & Cllr Major

It was resolved that the following Councillors would be members of the Planning Committee: Cllr Treharne, Cllr Jones, Cllr Rist, Cllr Harkness, Cllr Atkin, Cllr Major, Cllr Ford & Cllr Damon

It was resolved that the following Councillors would be members of the People and Places Committee: Cllr James, Cllr Evans, Cllr Jones, Cllr Damon, Cllr Harkness, Cllr Atkin, Cllr Katsande, Cllr Kirton & Cllr Garratt.

It was resolved that the following Councillors would be members of the Staffing Sub-Committee: Cllr Evans, Cllr Major, Cllr Treharne, Cllr Katsande & Cllr Fletcher

To approve a meeting recess for the month of August for the duration of this Council (2022-2027).

It was resolved to approve the August Meeting Recess.

To approve the schedule of meetings for 2022-23 (SO 5(j)(x).

It was questioned why the Planning Committee meets at Bridges Community Centre. The Town Clerk confirmed that the Council only had free access to the Shire Hall Council Chamber on Monday nights and therefore it was more cost effective to hire a room at Bridges than it was to hire the Council Chamber.

It was resolved to approve the schedule of meeting dates.

To review and approve the asset register (SO 5(j)(xv).

Consideration was given to the asset register and queries were raised regarding the condition of the town bunting and the maintenance of the planters and seating areas on Monnow Street.  It was agreed that a meeting should be arranged to discuss the current state of the MCC-owned street furniture and that the Town Clerk would liaise with the relevant officers at MCC. It was also noted that the 2 benches on Kings Fee were no longer there following the development of the Kingswood Gate active travel route. The Town Clerk will write to MCC to request the benches are returned.

It was resolved to approve the asset register.

To note the Council’s current insurance policy with Zurich until October 2022 (SO 5(j)(xvi).

Councillors queried whether the renewal would coincide with the budget setting in October and the Town Clerk confirmed that it would.

Councillors discussed the possibility of obtaining additional quotes for insurance. The Town Clerk confirmed that this was possible but that the current arrangement was subject to a Long Term Agreement until October 2023.

It was also noted that the regalia should be revalued by October 2022.

It was resolved to note the insurance policy with Zurich until October 2022.

To review the representation on or work with external bodies and arrangements for reporting back (SO 5(j)(xiv).

Cllr Katsande confirmed she would serve as a representative on One Voice Wales Larger Councils Committee

Cllr Major confirmed confirmed they would serve as a representative on One Voice Wales Area Committee

It was agreed to defer representation for the Central Monmouthshire Committee until the next Full Council meeting on 4^th July 2022 as it was not clear whether the committee was still meeting.

Cllr Garratt and Cllr Jones confirmed they would serve as representatives on CCTV (Closed Circuit TV Security Monitoring) Committee

It was agreed to defer representation for the Monmouthshire County Council Cluster Group until the next Full Council meeting on 4^th July 2022 as it was not clear whether the group was still meeting.

Cllr Fletcher confirmed she would serve as a representative on Kymin View Primary School Governing Body.

It was agreed to defer representation for the Osbaston Primary School Governing Body until the next Full Council meeting on 4^th July 2022 when it was hoped there would be more Osabaston Councillors present.

Cllr Garratt confirmed he would serve as a representative on Overmonnow Primary School Governing Body

Cllr Garratt confirmed he would serve as a representative on Haberdasher’s Monmouth School Committee as he has been appointed a Governor through MCC.

Cllrs Evans, Atkin and Kirton confirmed they would like to serve as representatives on Fairtrade Monmouth. The Town Clerk will liaise with Fairtrade Monmouth to confirm there is capacity for the multiple representatives.

Cllrs Harkness, Damon and Atkin confirmed they would like to serve as representatives on Wye Vally AONB (Area of Outstanding National Beauty). The Town Clerk will liaise with Fairtrade Monmouth to confirm there is capacity for the multiple representatives.

Cllr Harkness confirmed he would serve as a representative on GAVO (Gwent Association of Voluntary Bodies).

Cllr Evans confirmed he would serve as a representative for the Monmouth Charity.

Cllr Treharne confirmed he would serve as a representative on Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

Cllr Treharne confirmed he would serve as a representative on Drinking Fountains Scheme.

Cllrs Katsande and Jones confirmed they would serve as representatives on Mind Monmouthshire. The Town Clerk will liaise with Mind Monmouthshire to confirm there is capacity for the multiple representatives.

The Town Clerk & RFO confirmed she would obtain more information regarding Sight Cymru for the next Full Council meeting on 4^th July 2022.  

Cllrs Rist and Harkness confirmed they would serve as representatives on Give Dog Fouling the Red Card.

Cllrs Kirton, Damon and Atkin confirmed they would serve as representatives of ACE Monmouth.

To agree the suspension of the following Standing Orders and to defer consideration of the specific documents to the next meeting of the Full Council:

(a)  5(j)(xii)- Review of Standing Orders and Financial Regulations

(b)  5(j)(xviii)- Review of Council’s Complaints Procedure

(c)  5(j)(xix)- Review of Council’s procedure for requests made under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation

(d)  5(j)(xx)- Review of the Council’s Press and Media Policy

It was resolved to suspend the following Standing Orders and to defer consideration of the documents to the next Full Council meeting on 4^th July 2022:

(a)       5(j)(xii)- Review of Standing Orders and Financial Regulations

(b)       5(j)(xviii)- Review of Council’s Complaints Procedure

(c)        5(j)(xix)- Review of Council’s procedure for requests made under the           Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation

(d)       5(j)(xx)- Review of the Council’s Press and Media Policy

To note that the date of the next meeting of Full Council is 4^th July 2022.

It was noted the date of the next meeting of Full Council is Monday 4^th July 2022.

To resolve to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business, by the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, Section 1 (2) on the ‘grounds of confidentiality’.

It was resolved to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds of confidentiality.

To approve the termination of the shared Town Clerk/RFO role and to appoint the existing post holders into Town Clerk/Deputy RFO and RFO/Deputy Town Clerk roles in line with the Internal auditor’s recommendations in the final Audit Report 21-22, under the existing contract Terms and Conditions.

The Town Clerk provided an overview of the staff restructure since 2020 and confirmed that the current job share for the Town Clerks & RFOs has been in place since December 2021.

It was resolved to approve the termination of the shared Town Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer roles and to replace them with Town Clerk/ Deputy RFO and RFO/ Deputy Town Clerk in line with the recommendation made by the Internal Auditor with the employees existing contract Terms and Conditions remaining unchanged.