Agenda and minutes

To elect the Mayor for the ensuing Council year, 2019/20.

The Retiring Mayor, Denise Le Gal, welcomed new Councillors and guest to the Annual Meeting of Council, and invited nominations for the election of Mayor for the Council year 2019/20.

Cllr Carole Cockburn proposed that Cllr Mary Foryszewski be elected for the ensuing year, and this was seconded by Cllr Paul Follows.

There being no other nominations, it was RESOLVED that Cllr Mary Foryszewski be elected Mayor for the Council year 2019/20.

Having been invested with the Mayoral Robes and Chain of Office, Cllr Mary Foryszewski made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the chair for the remainder of the Council meeting.

The Mayor thanked Cllr Cockburn and Cllr Follows for their kind words of support, and the retiring Mayor for her service to the Council during her Mayoral year. The Mayor expressed her gratitude to all councillors for their vote of confidence in her to be an ambassador for Waverley Borough Council and to chair Council meetings fairly over the coming year.

To elect the Deputy Mayor for the ensuing Council year, 2019/20.

The Mayor invited nominations for the election of Deputy Mayor for the Council year 2019/20.

Cllr John Ward proposed Cllr Penny Marriott as Deputy Mayor, and this proposal was seconded by Cllr Andy MacLeod.

There being no other nominations, it was RESOLVED that Cllr Penny Marriott be elected Deputy Mayor for the Council year 2019/20.

The Mayor invested the new Deputy Mayor with the Badge of Office, and presented the Mayor’s Consort, the Deputy Mayor’s Consort, the Past Mayor, and Past Mayor’s Consort with the appropriate Badges of Office.

Cllr Penny Marriott made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked Councillors for electing her as Deputy Mayor.

Cllr Julia Potts proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, Denise Le Gal, which was seconded by Cllr Peter Martin.

Ms Le Gal responded by thanking Cllr Potts and Cllr Martin for their kind words. She had had a wonderful year as Mayor, attending many memorable events. Her undoubted highlights were the unveiling of the memorial stone on Milford Common to commemorate the Canadian soldiers who had been based their during World War I and World Ward II; the visit of the Landrat from Mayern-Koblenz; and a Christmas carol service at which Broadwater School choir gave a marvellous performance of ‘O Holy Night’ which she would remember forever.

Ms Le Gal thanked her Consort, Polly Russell-Stracey for her support over the last year; Alison Burrows, the Mayor’s PA; and Tom Horwood, the Chief Executive, for their advice and assistance.

Finally, she thanked the Members of the Council who had allowed her the privilege of serving as their Mayor for the past year.

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 19 March 2019 (herewith).

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 19 March 2019 were confirmed and signed.

The Mayor advised Councillors that she had chosen two causes as the focus of her Mayoral year.

The first was raising awareness of the issue of suicide in men, especially young men; and encouraging more open conversations with men about depression and mental ill-health.

Her second focus was related, and perhaps more obvious for those that knew her well: she was passionate about animal welfare and was looking for a local charity that combined her interests in animal welfare and therapeutic benefits of animals on mental health.

She would have more details about both in the coming weeks, along with the date for the Civic Service.

Finally, the Mayor thanked all the recently retired and outgoing councillors for their hard work and companionship in recent years, and welcomed the new Members to their new role in the Council.

To elect the Leader of the Council for the Term of the Council 2019 – 2023.

The Mayor called for nominations for Leader of the Council for the period 2019 – 2023.

It was proposed by Cllr David Beaman, and seconded by Cllr Paul Follows, that Cllr John Ward be elected as Leader of the Council for the period 2019 – 2023.

There were no other nominations, and it was RESOLVED that Cllr John Ward be elected as Leader of the Council, 2019 – 2023.

The Mayor invited Cllr Ward to make a statement.

Cllr Ward congratulated the Mayor on her election. She was known for her fairness, openness, reasonableness and determination and he was delighted that she would be Mayor in what was likely to be a challenging year.

Cllr Ward thanked Members for his election, and undertook to do his very best to justify the faith that the Council had shown in him. There had been a seismic shift in voting patterns at the recent elections and all parties, officers, and the public were negotiating new political waters. The Farnham Residents and Liberal Democrats had come together to form an administration. They would be making some changes but these would be measured and not rushed. There was a strong will to remodel how the Council worked to bring about a more collaborative form of government, moving towards a more committee-oriented structure.

As a first step on that path, places on the Executive had been offered to the other parties,  intending to make an assembly of all the talents. The Leader thanked the Conservative administration for the professional, friendly and constructive way in which they had participated in the handover to the new leadership team.

The Leader announced that he was making eight appointments to the Executive: the Deputy Leader would be Cllr Paul Follows from the Liberal Democrats. From the Farnham Residents he was appointing Cllrs Andy MacLeod, David Beaman, and John Neale, who brought experience in company management, transport planning and IT, as well as working with the disabled and less fortunate. He would confirm details of portfolio holder responsibilities in due course.

Cllr Paul Follows, Deputy Leader, confirmed the appointment to the Executive of Cllr Mark Merryweather and Cllr Anne-Marie Rosoman, from the Liberal Democrats; and Cllr Steve Williams, Green Group, and Cllr Nick Palmer, Labour Group.

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires local authorities, where Members are divided into political groups, to review periodically the representation of the political groups on their Committees and Sub-Committees to ensure that seats are allocated in the same proportion as that in which the council as a whole is divided.

The Council is required to confirm the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees and to agree their composition.

The Mayor advised Councillors that the report setting our the political proportionality of the new Council had been tabled, along with a schedule showing the Group Leaders’ nominations for appointments to committees.

There was one change in the nominations to be included, with Cllr Jenny Else replacing Cllr Kevin Deanus on the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

It was moved by the Mayor, seconded and duly RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the proportional allocation of seats on the Council’s committees; and

2.    Agree the nominations to Council Committee memberships and to the Appeals Panel and Surrey County Council Local Committee.