A town councillor has slammed the blocking of a motion which he says calls for the Ventnor Town Council to improve engagement with its local community.
The motion, submitted in advance by Cllr Ian Bond, had been rejected from the agenda, so he brought the issue up at last night’s (Monday 8th August) council meeting.
Asked to remove improper items from motion
During the discussion the the Mayor and Town Clerk said they believed the motion (see in full below) to be “improper”.
News OnTheWight understands that prior to the meeting Cllr Bond had been asked to amend his motion, removing the item (bullet point three) that had been considered “improper” and resubmit the motion. He chose not to follow that advice.
Bond: Didn’t see anything remotely “improper” in the motion as submitted
When asked why he chose not to remove the paragraph and resubmit, Cllr Bond told News OnTheWight,
“The principle of a motion is that the councillor writes what s/he wants to submit, not that the council writes what it wants to receive!
“I honestly didn’t (and don’t) see anything remotely “improper” in the motion as submitted.”
Bond: Excluding a motion from a member is not a small thing
At the start of the meeting, Cllr Bond challenged the ruling, saying,
“Excluding a motion from a member is not a small thing; it’s a really big thing.
“Tabling a motion is one of the fundamental rights we have as a member, and we have that right whether the council likes the motions we write or not.”
What was the motion?
The motion recommended that the Ventnor Town Council should encourage councillors to use social media to engage with residents, and develop a Community Engagement Strategy to better involve residents of the town in its decision-making.
When asked why the motion had been rejected, the Mayor, Cllr Steph Toogood replied,
“Because there was more to it than actually met the eye, and that there was more that needed to be discussed, and that it probably wasn’t the right thing to be putting to the council at that time.”
Bond: I don’t believe this is how a modern town or parish council should be run
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Bond told News OnTheWight,
“Rejecting my motion on such flimsy grounds is very disappointing. I believe from discussions with colleagues that it would have been supported by many of my fellow councillors.
“It is particularly disappointing since in so many respects Ventnor has a good record of engaging with the community, but this ends when it comes to its own decision-making.
“I don’t believe this is how a modern town or parish council should be run.”
News OnTheWight has contacted the Mayor and the Town Clerk for a response and will update once we hear back.
You can hear the discussion via the Town Council’s YouTube channel (although the sound is pretty bad and sounds like it’s under water).
The motion submitted for the agenda read:
The Council notes that:
- the NALC ‘Good Councillor’s Guide’ encourages councils and individual councillors to communicate and consult with residents, advising that you “cannot assume that you represent the interests of all your electors without consulting them”;
- our Social Media Policy for councillors, agreed in February 2022, encourages councillors to use “all forms of social media to build relationships with the community, to promote council activities or to assist with understanding the views of the community in order that they may represent the community’s views at council meetings”, with any alleged breaches of its mandatory elements by individual councillors falling beyond VTC’s powers to intervene;
- the Town Clerk has previously advised that the Mayor’s powers are “chairing of the Town Council’s meetings and representing it at civic events: the role carries no executive authority in itself”.
The Council therefore resolves to:
- continue to encourage individual councillors to use social media and other forms of communication to involve and consult our residents;
- review its own approach to communication and engagement, and produce and agree by March 2023 at a meeting of the council a Ventnor Town Council Community Engagement Strategy, to set out the ways in which the council will seek better to consult, communicate with and engage our local residents and businesses, including use of the internet; that strategy itself having been subject to public consultation before being agreed.
Article edit
9.25am 9th Aug 2022 – clarification about amending the motion added
2pm 9th Aug 2022 – Motion added along with additional comment from Cllr Bond
Image: © Ventnor Town Council
