Agenda and draft minutes

To receive declarations of interest from Members on items contained within this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest stated.

To consider the Minutes of the previous meeting(s)

Resolved:              That the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th April 2024 be agreed as accurate record.

When the Mayor has declared the result of the election, the Mayor, preceded by the Mace Bearers, will retire from the room, accompanied by the Chief Executive and the Mayor Elect.

The Mayor Elect will then be robed and invested with the chain of office.  The Mayor Elect will then return to the meeting room preceded by the Mace Bearers and accompanied by the Chief Executive.

The Mayor will take the chair and make the declaration of acceptance of office.

One nomination had been received: Cllr Barry Panter.

This was proposed by Cllr Northcott who provided background information and a timeline of Cllr Panter’s involvement in the Borough over the years and seconded by Cllr S Tagg who wished to echo the feeling that Cllr Panter would be suited for the role with a thought for his spouse who would also be present.

Resolved:     That Councillor Barry Panter be appointed as Mayor for the 2024-25 Municipal Year.

The retiring Mayor, preceded by the Mace Bearers, retired from the room, accompanied by the Chief Executive and the Mayor Elect.

After being robed and invested with the chain of office, the Mayor Elect returned to the meeting room preceded by the Mace Bearers and accompanied by the Chief Executive.

The Mayor took the chair and made the declaration of acceptance of office.

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Following the appointment of the Deputy Mayor, he/she will make the declaration of acceptance of office.

Two nominations were received:

-        Cllr Robert Bettley-Smith (RBS), who was proposed by Cllr Barker and seconded by Cllr Adcock who shared having seen Cllr Bettley-Smith excelling in a number of roles, taking into account residents’ views and working to achieve change.

-        Cllr John Williams (JW), who was proposed by Cllr Jones as second longest service member of the Council (29 years) having taking part in pretty much every single committee; the nomination was seconded by Councillor Fox-Hewitt.

A named vote was taken which resulted as follows.

There were:

-        24 (twenty-four) votes in favour of Cllr Robert Bettley-Smith (RBS)

-        17 (seventeen) votes in favour of John Williams (JW)

-        1 (one) abstention

Resolved:    That Councillor Robert Bettley-Smith be appointed as Deputy Mayor for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

The Deputy Mayor made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and expressed feeling honoured and delighted about endorsing his new role.

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The Mayor will announce appointments to Civic Roles for the forthcoming year.

The following appointments were made:

-        Mayoress:              Mrs Beatrice Panter

-        High Constable:     Mr David Whitmore

-        Mayor’s Cadet:      Cdt FS Will Halford

-        Chaplain:               Rev. Tim Watson

-        Mace Bearers:       Ms Jenny Otter and Mr Glenn Martin-James

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To receive the Mayoral address

The Mayor thanked members for electing him and stated that he was honoured to be appointed to the role which he would carry out to the best of his ability and in a professional manner. His two chosen charity would be Headway North Staffordshire and the Salvation Army. The Mayor also expressed his thanks to the retiring Mayor Cllr S White for carrying out his duties and for his support and tutoring while Cllr Panter was serving as Deputy Mayor.

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In appreciation of their services during the past year, the Group Leaders will lead a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, Mayoress and Consort.

On behalf of the Council, the Leader Cllr Simon Tagg congratulated the Mayor on his appointment and expressed thanks and appreciation to the retiring Mayor, Mayoress and Consort as well as High Constable, Mayor’s Cadet, Chaplain and the driver who also took official pictures on numerous occasions.

The Leader notably referred to successful events of the past year including the first admission of female burgesses in the borough, sharing his gratitude to the retiring mayor and everyone involved.

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Retiring Mayor’s response.

The retiring Mayor stated it had been an honour to serve during the year marking the 850^th anniversary of the borough.

On this occasion he visited all schools participating in the 850 competition and handling anniversary plates. He took part in more than 240 events and an excess of £30,000 was raised which would be distributed among the main charities as well as smaller organisations having requested support.

The retiring Mayor wished to thank all who had helped during those events. Gifts were handed to the Mayoress, Consort, High Constable, Civic and Member Support Officer, Driver and Photographer, Mace Bearers, Chaplain and High Sergeant.

The retiring Mayor finished by congratulating the new Mayor and letting him know he could rely on him would he need any advice or support.

The Mayor handed out packages of office to the retiring mayor, mayoress and consort as recognitions for their service.

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The Leader will report the appointment of the Cabinet and Deputy Leader for 2024/25.

The Leader confirmed the re-appointment of Cllr Sweeney as Deputy Leader as well as the following Cabinet members for 2024-25:

-       Cllr Heesom, portfolio holder for Community Safety and Wellbeing

-       Cllr Hutchison, portfolio holder for Sustainable Environment

-       Cllr Fear, portfolio holder for Strategic Planning

-       Cllr Skelding, portfolio holder for Leisure, Culture and Heritage

-       Cllr Sweeney, portfolio holder for Finance Town Centres and Growth

-       Cllr S Tagg, portfolio holder for One Council, People and Partnerships

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To appoint Members to committees. Appendix to follow.

The Mayor proposed that members of the committees be appointed as per the list provided with the report attached to the agenda. All agreed.

Resolved:    That the appointments to committees, as set out in the agenda, be approved.

The Mayor then proposed that a vote on committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs be taken en-bloc as per the report attached to the agenda. There were 24 (twenty-four) votes in favour of Conservative members and 17 (seventeen) in favour of Labour members.

Resolved:    That Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs be appointed as follows:

The Mayor finally invited the Leader and Cllr Jones to speak on nominations to external organisations. Cllr Jones wished for the list shared by Cabinet to be amended and nominated six labour Group members to fill the roles instead.

The Leader commented that Cabinet members were already filling these positions although he was willing to accept Cllr Lewis as Campaign for Rural England liaison.

The Mayor submitted the nomination of Cllr Lewis to the vote.

Resolved:    That Cllr Lewis be appointed as liaison to Campaign for Rural England.

The Mayor then submitted the five other nominations to an en-bloc vote.

Resolved:    That the Labour motion be lost and the roles remain as per the list provided with the agenda.

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To consider any communications which pursuant to Section B4, Rule 9 of the constitution are, in the opinion of the Mayor, of an urgent nature and to pass thereon such resolutions as may be  deemed necessary.

There was no urgent business.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following report(s) as it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs contained within Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no confidential items.