RIBBLE BANKS PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

HELD AT RATHMELL READING ROOM

ON TUESDAY 11^TH MAY 2010 AT 1930

PRESENT.

Councillors - Dr.D.Clarke (Outgoing Chair), Mr.F.Higginson, Mr.M. Dean

IN ATTENDANCE.

Mr. D. Abbott (Clerk), Mr. K.Gerrard (Internal Auditor), Former Cllrs. Crabtree, Houghton and Wright, Mr.D.Rawsthorne, Mr.R.Stone

10/33. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

Mr.B.Bell

10/34. DECLARATION OF INTEREST.

There were no declarations of interest relevant to the agenda.

10/35. CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS

No items were regarded as confidential

10/36. REPORT FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIRMAN

The Chairman explained that he would not be putting himself forward for the position of Chair of the Parish Council in the forthcoming year. He briefly summarised the key points of the last year as:-

- finally achieving the cleaning and restoration work of the two War Memorials.

- the effective working of a Parish Clerk throughout the year.

- the continued support of a number of community organizations and services.

- continuing the process of adopting recommended policies and procedures.

- contributing to a number of consultation exercises emanating from North Yorkshire County Council, Craven District Council and others.

He also wanted to place on record his appreciation for the support that he had received throughout his office from the outgoing Councillors.

Members of the public present expressed their appreciation of the work carried out by both the Chair and the Clerk during the previous 12 months.

10/37. NEW COUNCILLORS – DECLARATION FORMS

The 3 new Councillors – Clarke, Dean and Higginson, had signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office at the commencement of the meeting, and it was confirmed that the Parish Council had previously adopted the Model Code of Conduct.

The 3 Councillors also confirmed that they had signed their respective Declaration of Interest forms and would be forwarding these to Craven District Council, as required.

10/38. ELECTION OF NEW CHAIR

The outgoing Chair then sought nominations for the position of Chairman of the new Parish Council.

Cllr. Clarke proposed Cllr. Higginson, and this was seconded by Cllr. Dean. There were no further nominations. Cllr. Higginson indicated that he would be willing to take up the position of Chair, and he duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. Cllr. Higginson then proceeded to Chair the meeting from this point onwards.

10/39. ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR

Cllr. Higginson proposed Cllr. Clarke for the position of Vice Chair, and this was seconded by Cllr. Dean. There were no further nominations, it was unanimously AGREED that Cllr. Clarke be appointed Vice Chair, which he accepted.

10/40 APPOINTMENT OF CO-OPTED MEMBERS

The Clerk explained for those persons present at the meeting that people put forward for co-option onto the Parish Council did not become Councillors until their nominations have been discussed and approved by the elected Councillors.

He reported that he had received details of 3 people who were prepared to be co–opted onto the Parish Council namely – Mr. David Rawsthorne, Mr. Brendon Bell and Mr. Richard Crabtree – to fill the two vacancies.

The Chair asked for clarification of the recommended way to proceed on co-opting people onto the Parish Council. The Clerk advised that he had sought advice from Craven District Council Democratic Services Department, and they had confirmed that it was normal practice to request candidates to put forward reasons why they wished to become co-opted members of the Parish Council, and this was particularly relevant where there were more candidates then vacancies. The Parish Council is then recommended to debate the matter in open meeting and reach their decision following those discussions.

Councillors then proceeded to debate the matter, and it was proposed that candidates should be requested to submit written statements, within two weeks, as to why they wanted to become a Parish Councillor.

Concerns were expressed from the floor that a further name had been put forward since the matter had been discussed at the recent Rathmell Parish Meeting, and that candidates were being requested to provide a written statement supporting their position when the elected Councillors had not had to do something similar. It was explained that it was perfectly in order for the Parish Council to receive nominations from other sources, and also that if there had been more candidates prepared to stand for election to the Parish Council than the 5 vacancies which existed, then all candidates would have been invited to submit supporting statements as to why they should be elected to the Council, so that voters had something to consider. It was considered appropriate that the same principles should be applied to the cooption process.

Councillors AGREED that all nominees should be invited to submit a supporting statement, if they so wished, to the Clerk to the Parish Council, by Tuesday 25^th May 2010. As there were sufficient candidates to fill the two vacancies it was AGREED that no further nominations would be accepted following this meeting ACTION CLERK

Councillors subsequently AGREED to hold a special meeting to discuss the appointment of two Co-opted members to the Parish Council. This meeting will be held on Tuesday 15^th June 2010, at 7.30pm at Rathmell Reading Room. The Clerk will inform CDC’s Democratic Services of this, as there is a requirement to try and fill all vacancies within 35 days of the election date. ACTION CLERK

10/41 YEAR - END ACCOUNTS 2009/2010

The Clerk thanked Mr. Gerrard for his advice and prompt assistance in preparing and auditing the year end accounts and financial systems.

Mr.Gerrard explained that he was very happy to approve the accounts, and that the Council should be congratulated for ending the financial year virtually on budget.

The Clerk then took Councillors through the details of the receipts and payments for the financial year 2009/10. He explained that the value of the fixed assets had increased by £260, as a result of the purchase of two filing cabinets, and that the written down value of the asset declared (normal business practice) were less than the value of assets declared in the insurance policy, which were valued at nearer their replacement costs. A review of what are regarded as Parish Council assets is currently underway.

A question was asked from the floor whether the continuing financial support for the village websites could be justified. It was explained that this had been debated in the recent budget discussions, and that information had been provided to show that each website was visited and used on a regular basis. The websites were seen as an effective means of electronically communicating Council business to parishioners, and that it was also up to villagers to determine the websites’ usefulness, as these were used for many other purposes.

Cllr. Clarke proposed that the accounts for 2009/10 should be approved, and this was unanimously AGREED.

Coucillors then proceeded to discuss, complete and approve the Annual Return for the year ending 31^st March 2010. The Return was signed by the Chairman and Clerk in readiness for its submission to Mazars, the external auditors. ACTION CLERK

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council closed at 2020