MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF LOUTH TOWN COUNCIL
HELD ONLINE BY ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCE
ON THURSDAY 6TH MAY 2021
Present The Mayor, Cllr. D. Hobson (DH) (in the chair).
Councillors: Mrs. E. Ballard (EB), J Baskett (JB), M. Bellwood (MB), L. Cooney (LMC), A. Cox (AC) S. Crew (SC), D. Ford (DF), H. Filer (HF), J. Garrett (JG), D.J.E. Hall (DJEH), G. Horton (GEH), D. Jackman (DJ), A. Leonard (AL), Mrs. S.E. Locking (SEL), Mrs. J. Makinson-Sanders (JMS), K. Norman (KN), J. Simmons (JS), F.W.P. Treanor (FWPT) and Mrs. P.F. Watson (PFW).
NB: Cllr. AC arrived at 7:20pm during item T10.
Councillors not present: D.E. Wing (DEW).
The Town Clerk, Mrs. L.M. Phillips and the Town Clerk’s Assistant, Mrs. M. Vincent were also present.
T1. Election of Town Mayor (Chairman)
It was RESOLVED by vote of the Council that Cllr. DH be elected Mayor of Louth to hold office until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2022, that Cllr. DH accepted the Office and would sign the Declaration of acceptance of Office on the following morning in the presence of the Town Clerk. The Mayor made a short speech thanking the current Deputy Mayor, Mayor’s Sergeant, members of the Council and Louth Town Council staff for their support over the previous year. Cllr. EB gave a vote of thanks to the Retiring Mayor for his hard work over the previous year and welcomed the new Mayor.
T2. Election of Deputy Mayor
It was RESOLVED that Cllr. JB be elected Deputy Mayor to hold office until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2022.
T3. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. DEW.
T4. Declarations of Interest / Dispensations
None.
T5. Council Minutes
It was RESOLVED to approve as a correct record, the notes of the Council Meeting held on the on 30th March 2021.
T6. Committee Minutes
It was RESOLVED to confirm receipt of the minutes and adopt the resolutions contained therein of the following Committee Meetings:
a) Planning – 16th March 2021
b) Governance and Finance – 16th March 2021
c) Community Resources – 2nd March 2021
T7. Louth Town Council Governance
It was RESOLVED to confirm that Governance Documents such as Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Risk Management and Internal Controls, the Asset Register, Insurance arrangements, the Council’s Complaints Procedure, all policies relating to GDPR, the Handling Freedom of Information Requests Policy, Media Policy and other policies and procedures were reviewed and adopted in 2020/21.
T8. Committees of the Council
It was RESOLVED that the Council re-establish the Committees below, as Committees of Louth Town Council and confirm terms of reference / delegated authority as contained within Standing Orders and confirm membership:
a) Planning Committee (P), All Members
b) Governance and Finance Committee (G), All Members
c) Community Resources Committee (C), All Members; and
d) Personnel (H) Committee, 5 Members, (Existing: JMS, SC, EB, GEH, DEW)
T9. Town Clerk
It was RESOLVED to confirm delegated authority to the Town Clerk as contained within Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and as previously approved on 30th March 2021.
T10. Representation on External Bodies and Arrangements for Reporting Back
It was RESOLVED to agree on the following representation at meetings and reporting back:
a) Louth United Charities – Cllrs. Mrs. SEL, Mrs. JMS, DEW, SC, JS and AL. (Cllr. Mrs. SEL being voted back on as her term of office was to expire in May 2021).
b) King Edward VI Almshouse School and Educational Charity of Louth – Cllrs. AL, Mrs. EB and SC
c) Louth Navigation Regeneration Partnership – Cllr. Mrs. PFW and Cllr. JS to substitute when required.
d) CCTV Partnership – Cllr. Mrs. EB, Cllr. AC and Town Clerk.
T11. Council’s Membership of Other Bodies
It was noted that the Council was a subscriber/member or associate of:
a) Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC).
b) National Association of Local Councils (NALC).
c) LALC Annual Training Scheme.
d) Historic Towns Forum (Free associate).
e) The Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities.
f) The Information Commissioners Office.
g) The Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.
T12. Meetings of the Council
It was RESOLVED to confirm the following:
a) That future meetings be held as per the schedule of Louth Town Council and Committees. These to be physical meetings unless legislation allows and Covid permitting.
b) The Town Clerk to issue summons accordingly.
T13. Working Groups
It was RESOLVED to re-establish the following working groups, to approve the remit (as per the schedule attached to the agenda) and confirm the membership as follows:
a) Events Group
Cllrs: MB, HF, LMC, DF, DHEH, DH (Chair TC) JS, JB (Vice TC) and FWPT.
b) Past Mayors
Cllrs: Mrs. EB, DH, GEH, AL, Mrs. SEL, Mrs. JMS, FWPT, Mrs PFW and DEW.
c) Speed Awareness Working Group
Cllrs: JB, MB, SC, DF, DJEH, GEH and DH (Mayor).
T14. Nominated Key Holders
It was RESOLVED to confirm that the four Councillors FWPT, DJ, SC and DH continue to be key holders of The Sessions House, which role involves opening/closing up of Sessions House as required and being on call to deal with Chubb Fire and Security in the event of the building’s alarms being activated overnight or at weekends.
T15. Cheque Signatories
The Council noted signatories, as follows:
Lloyds Account – Mrs. EB, Mrs. SEL, Mrs. JMS, AL and DEW.
NSI Account – SC, Mrs. EB, Mrs. SEL, DH and AL.
The Meeting Closed at 7.46pm.
Signed_______________________ (Chairman) Dated_________________________