At Sandown Town Council’s (STC) meeting on Monday evening, a motion proposed by Cllr Debbie Andre to restore ten meetings a year as opposed to the current six was thrown out.
Cllr Andre, and Cllr Heather Humby who seconded the motion, both gave impassioned speeches setting out why they believe ten meetings
Andre: We need to run, more than ever, as a business
In proposing her motion, Cllr Andre had the following to say,
“As more services are being devolved down to our town council from the Isle of Wight Council without the necessary funding to deliver them, such as public toilets, we need to run, more than ever, as a business.
“Length of agendas need to be manageable without the need for extra time. This meeting has already needed two extensions. There needs to be a programme of meetings that allows for the monthly cycle of some decisions that need to be made within a timeframe.
“There is no provision within our standing orders for making decisions by email and it is only right and proper that any decision making of the Council is conducted according to standing orders in public to be transparent and legitimate.”
Clerk: Capacity and budget issues
In a briefing note prepared for councillors by the STC Clerk, former IWC councillor for Shanklin, Richard Priest, he claimed that,
“If staff are in a continual cycle of preparing for or follow-up from formal meetings, there is a significant risk less projects would be delivered due to capacity issues.”
He also set out what had been achieved in the last year with six meetings, plus two informal meetings, said there was no budget for more meetings and stated that in the responses to the (online only) public consultation “communication was not a key issue and residents would prefer to prioritise delivery of services”.
Andre: Improving governance
Cllr Andre argued in her speech that the overall number of hours required to attend meetings should be lower. She said,
“Whilst I appreciate that this will mean extra monthly attendance for our staff, the overall number of hours required to attend meetings should not be significantly higher as the meetings will be shorter.
“This is a matter that can be considered in more depth by the HR Committee.
“In bringing this motion to the council, I very much hope that my fellow councillors will show their support in order that the motion may be approved and will be a significant step in improving the governance of STC.”
Humby: All other TCs, except Shanklin, have ten meetings
Cllr Heather Humby seconded the motion and gave an impassioned speech during the debate. She said,
“Over many years, I have served on many councils, Sandown and Shanklin Urban District Council, South Wight Borough Council, Isle of Wight and our town council, and most have had ten meetings per year.
“Sandown Town Council, since its creation in 1983, has always had monthly meetings, with the exception of August and December.
“We now only have six meetings, with no committee structure (except for HR committee, which only meets when needed)!
“I’ve checked the frequency of other town council meetings, and with the exception of Shanklin, all have ten meetings in addition to their annual meeting. This includes Ryde, Newport. Ventnor, Cowes, East Cowes, even Lake, a parish council, has ten meetings and the majority have a committee structure.”
Working Parties not accessible for everyone
Cllr Humby went on to add,
“I appreciate Sandown Town Council has working parties, but they meet at 9.30am in the morning, and councillors who are working, are unable to participate, the public are not allowed to attend, and there are no formal minutes.
“Please may I stress that this is not a reflection on our clerk or Responsible Financial Officer, who do an excellent job, under difficult circumstances.
“However, I do believe this council should return to its regular ten meetings per year, as other town councils provide. I believe we owe it to our residents who gave us their vote.”
Lack of support
Cllr Andre’s motion also called for all Working Groups to be terminated to free up capacity, whilst future Task and Finish Groups be considered at the right time to assist with specific deliverables.
The motion was defeated after being supported by only four out of the 12 councillors present.
