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Minutes of the Staffing, Finance & General Purposes Committee held in the Town Hall, Bideford on Thursday 27 October 2022 at 6.30 pm
 
PRESENT:
 
North Ward:
 
Councillor P S Christie
Councillor D Bushby (Chairman)
Councillor D McGeough
 
South Ward:
 
Councillor S Inch
Councillor P Lawrence
 
East Ward:
 
Councillor Mrs J Gubb
Councillor Mrs L Hellyer
Councillor J McKenzie
 
IN ATTENDANCE: Town Clerk
  
049. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
 
Councillor Hawkins (West Ward – illness)
 
050. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND ANY REQUESTS FOR DISPENSATION ON ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
 
No interests were declared.
 
051. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SESSION OF 15 MINUTES DURATION
 
No Members of the public were present at the meeting.
 
052. MINUTES
 
Proposed by Councillor Inch and seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellyer, the minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2022 were approved and signed as a correct record.  
 
Councillor Christie enquired about the issue with the leak coming from the Torridge District Council toilets which in turn had caused water to penetrate one of the shops in Butcher’s Row, and whether any compensation had been received from Torridge District Council.  The Town Clerk said that she would check.
 
(Vote – For: 8, Against: 0)
 
053. CHAIRMAN’S ITEMS
 
• The Clerk drew Members’ attention to an email from The Torridge District Council Community Engagement Project Officer advising that he would be spending the £15,000 allocated to the smaller Bideford Parks shortly and the £10,000 allocated to Victoria Park next year.  Councillor Christie advised that he thought it would probably be spent at Londonderry.  Members were happy for the funds to be allocated by the Community Engagement Project Officer.
 
• The Clerk advised that the Mayor would lay a wreath at St Mary’s on Armistice Day whilst the Deputy Mayor would lay a wreath at Victoria Park.  The Deputy Town Clerk is organising a piper and a vicar to be present at Victoria Park.  Members enquired whether a Councillor would be laying a wreath at Chudleigh Fort.  The Town Clerk advised that Councillor Mrs Craigie had previously said that she would like to do this.
 
• A new entrance sign has been ordered for Kingsley Road.  All three parts of the sign are being replaced due to the colour fade of the two sections of sign that were not stolen.
 
• The Town Clerk advised that she had been liaising with the Projects Manager for Devon Air Ambulance concerning the lights for the heli pad.  It has now been agreed that they will be bought and owned by Shamwickshire Rovers with a grant from Bideford Town Council and Devon Air Ambulance.  In addition, The Town Council will ringfence a modest sum of money for Shamwickshire Rovers to access for future repairs and insurance costs.  This will all be set out in the Memorandum of Understanding.   The football club will own the lights.  It was agreed that the grant funding can now be paid to Shamwickshire Rovers to facilitate the purchase of the lights.
 
054.     ACCOUNTS 
 
a.       Members received the list of payments.  
 
Proposed by Councillor Bushby, seconded by Councillor Inch, and
 
RESOLVED:  That the draft list of payments is approved  
 
(Vote – For: 8, Against: 0)
 
b.       Members received the Conclusion of Audit from PK Littlejohns.
 
Proposed by Councillor Mrs Hellyer, seconded by Councillor Lawrence, and
 
RESOLVED:  That the Conclusion of Audit from PK Littlejohns is noted.  
 
(Vote – For: 8, Against: 0)
 
055. HANGING BASKET REFILLS
 
Members considered the quotation for the Hanging Basket refills for 2023.  It was agreed that a contribution should be requested from the traders.  
 
Proposed by Councillor Mrs Hellyer, seconded by Councillor Inch, and
 
RECOMMENDED: That the quotation for the Hanging Basket refills for 2023 from Merry Harriers is accepted.
 
(Vote For: 8, Against: 0) 
 
056. FLORAL PLANTER REFILLS
 
Members considered the quotation for the Floral Planter refills for 2023.
 
Proposed by Councillor Bushby, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellyer, and
 
RESOLVED: That the quotation for the Floral Planter refills for 2023 from Merry Harriers is accepted.
 
(Vote For: 8, Against: 0) 
 
057. UNDERBRIDGE LIGHTS
 
The Town Clerk advised that the underbridge lights had now been repaired. The yellow sodium bulbs were replaced with white LEDs, which look lovely and cost less in electricity.  The Chairman reported that he has received a number of complimentary comments about the new lights.
 
058.    GRANT APPLICATION FORM
 
Members considered whether any changes are required to the grant application form.
 
Proposed by Councillor Bushby, seconded by Councillor  McKenzie and
 
RESOLVED: That box 5 is amended to read: “Details of other bodies you have approached for grants for the coming Financial Year.  (Please detail the amount awarded, who it was from, and any conditions attached to the award)”.
 
(Vote: For:  8, Against: 0)
 
059. NORTH DEVON RECORD OFFICE
 
Members considered the request from the Barnstaple Town Clerk, for Bideford Town Council to write to neighbouring Parishes to urge them to consider making an annual budget commitment to the North Devon Record Office.
 
Proposed by Councillor Christie, seconded by Councillor Mrs Hellyer and
 
RESOLVED: That Bideford Town Council writes to neighbouring Parishes and forwards a copy of the letter from Barnstaple Town Council urging them to consider making an annual budget commitment to the North Devon Record Office.
 
(Vote: For: 8, Against: 0)
 
Councillors Mrs Hellyer and Christie both offered to furnish the Town Clerk with a list of neighbouring parishes who use the North Devon Record Office.
 
060.     MAINTENANCE OPERATIVES
 
Members received an update on the tasks undertaken by the Maintenance Operatives and noted the report.  The Town Clerk was asked to advise the team to only use Roundup sparingly and where necessary.
 
061. PART II CLOSED SESSION
 
Proposed by Councillor Bushby, seconded by Councillor McKenzie and
 
RESOLVED:  That in view of the confidential nature of the business about to be discussed, the meeting moves into part II.
 
(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)
 
062.    STAFFING MATTERS
 
a:      Staff Appraisal. There is a confidential Minute associated with this item. 
 
b:      Retirement of the Town Clerk.  It was agreed that Councillor Bushby and the Town Clerk would write an advert, person specification and job description for the post, and that Councillor Bushby would speak to the Human Resources Department at Torridge District Council about running some psychometric, verbal and numerical reasoning tests.  The post will be advertised both locally and in all the sector specific publications. Ideally the incoming Clerk should have the CILCA qualification. Further consideration will be given to the interview process and interview panel.
 
063. Proposed by Councillor Bushby, seconded by Councillor Mckenzie and
 
RESOLVED:  That the meeting returns to Standing Orders.
 
(Vote For: 8, Against: 0)
 
The business of the meeting having been completed, the Chairman thanked the members for their attendance and the meeting concluded at 7.11 pm.
 
 
Accounts for approval at Staffing Finance General Purposes Committee 271022
 

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