Agenda and minutes

To elect the Mayor for the ensuing Council year 2016/2017.

The Mayor invited nominations for the election of Mayor for the Council year 2016/2017.

It was proposed by Cllr Pat Frost and seconded by Cllr Denis Leigh that Councillor Chris Storey be elected Mayor for the ensuing year.  Words of support were also offered by the Leader of the Principal Opposition Group and the Independent member on the Council.  There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED  that Councillor Chris Storey be elected Mayor for the year 2016/2017.

Having been invested with the Mayoral Robes and Chain of Office, Councillor Chris Storey made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the chair.

The Mayor thanked members for their words of support and said that it would be an honour and a privilege to fulfil the role of Mayor.  He was looking forward to the various engagements across the Borough over the next year and thanked Cllr Band for leading by example and passing on a number of interesting visits to him.  He said that his objective throughout his mayoral year was to make Waverley more visible and promote public involvement whenever possible.

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Paddy Blagden, Brian and Patricia Ellis, Michael Goodridge, Jill Hargreaves, Libby Piper, Jeanette and Stewart Stennett and Bob Upton.

To appoint the Deputy Mayor for the ensuing Council year.

The Mayor invited nominations for the appointment of Deputy Mayor for the year 2016/2017.

It was proposed by Cllr Carole King and seconded by Cllr Peter Isherwood that Cllr Simon Inchbald be appointed Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year.  There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED  that Cllr Simon Inchbald be appointed Deputy Mayor for the year 2016/2017.

Cllr Simon Inchbald made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked those who had spoken in support of his appointment.  He said that he was looking forward to the year ahead and would try his best to support the Mayor.

Cllr Pat Frost proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, Cllr Mike Band.  She said that he had fulfilled the role with dignity, knowledge and a great understanding of the Borough.  This was seconded by Cllr Maurice Byham.

Cllr Band thanked Cllrs Frost and Byham for their kind words.  He informed councillors that he attended over 400 events during his mayoral year, ably supported by the Deputy Mayor and the former Mayor, Cllr Liz Wheatley.  He also thanked the Town Mayors who worked together to represent the Borough on a number of occasions.  Cllr Band was pleased to report that over £40,000 had been raised for his charities and that the profile of the mayoralty had been raised across the Borough.

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 19 April 2016 (herewith).

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 19 April 2016 were confirmed and signed.

The Mayor announced that his chaplain for his mayoral year would be the Reverend Alan Crawley from St George’s Church in Badshot Lea, Farnham.  He informed members that his Civic Service would be held there at 3pm on 10 July 2016.

The Mayor announced that he would be supporting the following charities which were close to his heart:

·        Change of Scene – a local charity who offer support to children who are excluded from school, introducing them to various activities which teach them skills for self reliance and self respect

·        Royal Surrey County Hospital and in particular the Cedar Centre which specialised in diabetes and orthopaedics.

On behalf of councillors, the Mayor offered words of thanks to Robin Pellow, Monitoring and Returning Officer, who was retiring from the Council at the end of June. 

For health and family reasons, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Robert Knowles, has decided to stand down with effect from the Annual Meeting in May 2016.

The Council is therefore required to elect a Leader of the Council for the remainder of the Council term, until May 2019.

The Council was informed that Cllr Robert Knowles had stood down as Leader of the Council with effect from the Annual Council Meeting, for health and family reasons.

The Mayor called for nominations for Leader of the Council for the period 2016-2019.  It was proposed by Cllr Peter Martin and seconded by Cllr Carole Cockburn that Cllr Julia Potts be elected Leader of the Council.  There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED  that Cllr Julia Potts be elected Leader of the Council for the period 2016-2019.

The Leader of the Council appoints the Deputy Leader and members of the Executive for the forthcoming Council year.  The Executive comprises of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and up to eight other members of the majority political group.  The allocation of portfolios for 2016/17 as notified by the Leader elect are attached.  In accordance with the constitution, the Leader will appoint the Deputy Leader of the Council for the duration of the Leader’s term of office until May 2019.

Recommendation

The Council is invited to note the appointment of the Members of the Executive for 2016/2017, as attached, and the appointment of the Deputy Leader of the Council for the duration of the Leader’s term of office.

Cllrs Peter Martin and Julia Potts both offered words of thanks to Cllr Knowles for his courage and fortitude whilst being Leader of the Council for the last six years and all that had been achieved during that time.

The Leader of the Council went on to announce the members of the Executive for 2016/2017 and their portfolio holder responsibilities, along with the appointment of Cllr Tom Martin as Deputy Leader of the Council for the duration of the Leader’s term of office, as follows:-

To appoint to Committees for the forthcoming Council  year, details of which are attached.

Recommendation

It is recommended that

1.         the principal Committees and the Area Planning Committees, together with the Surrey County Council Local Committee, Standards Panel, Appeals Panel and Emergency Advisory Group for the year 2016/2017, be constituted as indicated in Annexe 1; and

2.         [Licensing and Regulatory Committee members only] the Licensing (General Purposes) and Licensing Act Sub-Committees be constituted as indicated in Annexe 2.

The Leader of the Council moved the adoption of recommendations in Annexe 1 relating to the appointments to Committees for the forthcoming Council year.  The Council then

RESOLVED  that

1.         the principal Committees and the Area Planning Committees, together with the Surrey County Council Local Committee, Standards Panel, Appeals Panel and Emergency Advisory Group for the year 2016/2017 be as indicated in Annexe 1; and

2.         the Licensing (General Purposes) and Licensing Act Sub-Committees be constituted as indicated in Annexe 2 to the report [NB. This decision was taken by members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee only].