RIBBLE BANKS PARISH COUNCIL

Draft

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

HELD AT CLARK’S OLD SCHOOL, WIGGLESWORTH

ON WEDNESDAY 3^RD JUNE 2009 AT 1930

PRESENT.

Councillors - Dr.D.Clarke (Chair), Mr.F.Higginson, Mr. I. Wright

IN ATTENDANCE.

Mr. D. Abbott (Clerk), Mr. K.Gerrard (Internal Auditor), 4 Members of the Public

09/01. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

Councillors Mr.R.Crabtree, Mrs.B.Houghton

O9/02. DECLARATION OF INTEREST.

There were no declarations of interest relevant to the agenda.

09/03. CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS

No items were regarded as confidential

09/04. REPORT FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIRMAN

The Chairman felt that the year 2008/09 had been a challenging but successful year, in which the Parish Council had moved forward on a number of items:-

- holding 6 meetings a year had proved helpful in dealing with a substantial increase in requirement to respond to consultation documents, and the adoption of more policies and procedures in support of good governance, as well as managing routine administration and correspondence.

- the Parish Council had adopted formal Financial Regulations and Standing Orders, which were consistent with national guidelines, but these had been adapted to reflect the size and business of the Parish Council.

- had introduced a new working relationship between the constituent Village Parish Meetings and the Parish Council, consistent with recommendations, in which individual Parish Meetings were no longer responsible for holding monies and were required to submit requests for financial help to the Parish Council for consideration. These adjustments appeared to be settling in satisfactorily.

- In response to requests from parishioners the Parish Council had arranged for Colin Iveson, Head of Democratic Services at Craven District Council, to address parishioners on the issue of separate Parish Councils for the villages of Rathmell and Wigglesworth, as opposed to the existing arrangement of a Parish Council that served both villages along with Halton West. His conclusion was that all village interests would be best served under the existing arrangements of a grouped Parish Council, and this conclusion is endorsed by the Parish Council.

- the Parish Council had terminated the arrangements with the existing Parish Clerk, and a new appointment had been made.

- the Council continued to support a number of local activities and organisations, as reported in the minutes of their regular meetings.

09/05. YEAR END ACCOUNTS 2008/2009

The Clerk thanked Mr.Gerrard for the prompt way that he turned round the year end accounts and in carrying out the audit of the Council’s accounts.

Mr.Gerrard reported that he was pleased with the way the Council had dealt with the financial responsibilities in a difficult year, and that he was able to give his approval to the year end accounts for 2008/2009.

The Clerk was asked to contact Halton West Parish Meeting to establish what has happened to the balance on their account of 80p, prior to its closure.

ACTION CLERK

Cllr Wright proposed that the Council approved the accounts for 2008/2009, and this was seconded by Cllr. Higginson, and unanimously AGREED.

The Councillors then proceeded to discuss and complete the appropriate sections of the Annual Return for the year ending 31^st March 2009, and the Return was then signed by the Chairman and the Clerk, in readiness for its submission to the External Auditors. ACTION CLERK

09/06. ELECTION OF CHAIR (Clerk in the Chair)

The Clerk asked for nominations for the position of Chair for the ensuing year. Cllr. Higginson thanked Cllr. Clarke for his hard work, and the excellent and efficient way that he had lead the Council through many changes last year, and that he would like to propose Cllr. Clarke as Chairman once more, and this was seconded by Cllr. Wright. There were no further nominations. Cllr. Clarke said he was willing to take up the position of Chair for a further year, but would not be able to commit himself to this post beyond the coming year, because of his other commitments.It was unanimously AGREED that Cllr. Clarke serve as Chair for a further year.

Mr.R.Stone proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the public for Cllr. Clarke’s commitment to the Council, and his work on behalf of the Council.

09/07. ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR.

The Chair explained that he felt that a Vice Chair should be appointed, and proposed Cllr. Higginson for the position, and this was seconded by Cllr. Wright. There being no further nominations it was unanimously AGREED that Cllr. Higginson be appointed Vice Chair, which he accepted.

09/08. RESIGNATIONS.

It was announced that at the end of this current term of office that Cllrs. Crabtree and Wright would not be seeking re-selection. They both felt that it was now time for other people to come forward as Councillors. This means that two new representatives for the Rathmell Parish would be required to come forward at the next elections in 2010.

09/09. OBJECTIVES FOR 2009/2010.

The Chair put forward what he felt should be the Council’s immediate priorities for the coming year as:-

- adopting a Publication Scheme Policy

- publishing a Guide to Council Information available to the public, and how to access it

- adopting Disciplinary and Grievance procedures and policies, and updates

- proceeding with maintenance work on the war memorials located in Rathmell and HaltonWest.

- establishing a formal system of archiving and storing the Parish Council documents, minutes and correspondence.

- continuing to support local projects, particularly those associated with buildings

- looking at ways of raising people’s awareness of the duties and responsibilities of the Parish Council, with a view to encouraging wider involvement, particularly in the light of the need for 2 new Councillors representing Rathmell next year.

There was general agreement that these issues should be addressed over the next 12 months.

The Annual General Meeting closed at 2015.