Llanbadoc Community Council

GWEHELOG FAWR COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes of The Annual General Meeting held at 7.30pm on Wednesday 25th May 2016 at Gwehelog Fawr Village Hall

Present: Cllr. Simon Carbury, Cllr. Judith Bayliss, Cllr. Kay Davies, Cllr. Charles Kirby, Cllr. Chris Tooze and Cllr. Rob Baker

Members of the Public: County Councillor Val Smith and 1 member of the public

1. Apologies for absence: Cllr. Maggie Godwin

2. Minutes of AGM meeting held on Wednesday 27th May 2015: The minutes of the previous AGM held on Wednesday 27th May 2015 were adopted and signed.

3. Chairman’s Remarks: 2015-2016 ‘Our year started with a public meeting to which all the residents of our collective wards were invited. The idea of the meeting was to increase awareness of the Community Council and our role as Councillors. We were also trying to find out what people wanted us to prioritise and also if they would be willing to pay a higher precept in order for us to self-fund certain projects i.e. road repairs. I was very disappointed by the turn out, there being few more than our regulars. On the subject of road repairs, the state of our lanes is atrocious with very little being done in the way of effective repairs. Unfortunately, this is a situation which does not show any signs of improvement. Another ongoing problem is the use of the lanes by HGV’s despite our requests for signs to prevent unnecessary problems. Just before Christmas travellers began putting in roads and a foul drainage system. Despite enforcement being notified no action took place, and the arrival of 4 caravans followed. Monmouthshire County Council are now investigating at a speed satisfactory only to themselves and the locals are very unhappy. We can only hope that the outcome is satisfactory, though I am not very hopeful. Simon Carbury, Chairman Gwehelog Fawr Community Council.

4. Election of Chairman: Cllr. Charles Kirby nominated Maggie Godwin and this was seconded by Cllr. Judith Bayliss. It was agreed that Cllr. Maggie Godwin would be asked to take the position of Chair on her return. Cllr. Simon Carbury to continue as chair for the current meeting.

5. Election of Vice-Chairman: Cllr Charles Kirby nominated Cllr. Chris Tooze as vice chair and this was seconded by Cllr. Kay Davies. Chris Tooze requested to defer his decision to take up office until a Chair had been confirmed. There were no other nominations for vice chair.

6. Declarations of acceptance of office: This was deferred to the next meeting to be held on Wednesday 29th June 2016.

7. Review signatories on Bank Account: Existing pool of signatories to remain the same, Cllr. Simon Carbury, Cllr. Maggie Godwin and Cllr. Charles Kirby. 2 Signatories required.

8. Appointment of any new committees / sub-groups: A discussion was had over the benefits of sub-groups of Council members, in delegating decisions such as Signature: Date: Page 1 of 2 planning matters, particularly with no meetings in August and December. It was decided not to make any changes at this present time.

9. Review and adoption of appropriate Standing Orders, Internal Control and Financial Regulations: All Council members confirmed their satisfaction with the current Standing Orders, Internal Control and Financial Regulations.

10.Review of effectiveness of Internal Control: Council members are aware that they can contact the independent internal auditor of the council at any time.

11.Appointment of internal auditor for next 12 months – The Council unanimously appointed John Turner as the internal auditor for the following 12 months.

12.Review contracts of employment: Clerk salary review proposed by Cllr. Chris Tooze and seconded by Cllr. Rob Baker. It was unanimously agreed to award a pay increase to the clerk – Based on the National Joint Council for local government services (NJC) 2016-2018 National Salary from point 22 to point 23 on scale – new salary £10.944 ph. To be back dated to 1st April 2016. ACTION: Clerk to inform MCC Done 02/06/16

13.Review of Inventory - assets including land: 4 noticeboards based at Gwehelog Village Hall, Gwehelog Fawr Cross Roads, by the Baptist Church, Kemeys Commander and Llancayo.

14.Review of confirmation of Insurance cover: Zurich Council Insurance policy renewal 1st June 2016. Quote £205.33. Agreed

15.Confirmation of councillors Register of Interests – Cllr. Rob Baker to update. All other Councillors present confirmed they had no further declarations of interest to make at this time. Clerk to publicise register of members interests on the website.

16.Financial Statement for year 2015/16 – Each Councillor received a copy of the complete 2015/16 accounts as approved by the internal auditor. The Council unanimously approved the formal adoption of the 2015/16 accounts. Chairman Cllr. Simon Carbury signed and dated the accounts.

17.Training – Review and Request - There were no requests for training at this time.

There being no further business, the AGM closed at 7.59am

Signature: Date: Page 2 of 2