The nomination was proposed by Cllr Beechey and seconded by Cllr Alvey.

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1 SHROPSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL COUNCILS DRAFT MINUTES OF 69 TH AGM HELD AT 5.30 PM ON FRIDAY 9 TH NOVEMBER 2018 AT THE NEW BUCKS HEAD STADIUM, WELLINGTON AGM18/1801 CHAIRMAN S WELCOME The Chairman welcomed members and guests to the 69 th Annual General Meeting of the Association. He announced that the President, Mrs Pat McLaughlin MBE had decided to stand down. Paying tribute to the sterling work she had undertaken during her period in office the Chairman then took agenda item 3, Election of President. A written nomination had been received from Stottesdon and Sidbury Parish Council, seconded by Ercall Magna Parish Council. There were no further nominations. The nomination was proposed by Cllr Beechey and seconded by Cllr Alvey. RESOLVED: That Katrina Baker, MBE be elected President of the Shropshire Association of Local Councils AGM18/1802 PRESIDENT S ADDRESS TO THE MEETING The newly elected President thanked the Chairman, colleagues and friends present. She then paid tribute to the retiring President who had asked that her best wishes be passed on to members. The President asked members to join with her in sending grateful thanks to Pat McLaughlin MBE who had been a perfect ambassador having been with the Association for over 30 years. During this time she had been Treasurer before becoming a well-respected, hard-working President. The Association commissioned new badges of office in 2017 and Pat had requested they should be designed to represent both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, to represent the work undertaken together in supporting all the Local Councils in the County. In thanking everyone for their support, the President said she had been involved with the Association for around 30 years and paid tribute to the work undertaken by the County Secretaries and Chairmen over this period. There had been a good representation of Town & Parish Councillors from across the County that included Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin with current membership at a record level of 96%. The President spoke of the value placed on input from members, reminding the meeting that 2019 would be the 70 th year of the Association. Consideration would be given on ways to celebrate and recognise this anniversary. She made reference to the training, support and advice the Association provides to clerks and councillors to assist those representing communities in their decision making at local level, reminding the meeting that local councils were the first tier of local government being the most local level and closest to the people. Finally, the President said it was an absolute honour to accept the role and wanted to hear from members on their views, suggestions and ideas going forward. She then gave a warm welcome to John Campion, Police & Crime Commissioner and Chief Superintendent Kevin Purcell who were present to talk about Policing in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. 1

2 AGM18/1803 POLICING IN SHROPSHIRE, TELFORD & WREKIN The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) gave feedback on the recent Town and Parish Council Survey aimed to inform priorities for both the PCC and the Police. 107 Town and Parish Councils had taken part in the survey, representing just under a quarter of West Mercia s communities and 45 were from Shropshire, 12 being from Telford & Wrekin. Whilst the police were generally seen as doing a fair, good or excellent job by most, in Shropshire, 62% rated police visibility as poor whilst in T&W 83% rated it poor or very poor indicating this to be a key area of focus in building relationships with communities. The survey would be run again next year. The PCC highlighted the Smart Water grant funding scheme he had launched where parish councils could bid for 25% of the costs. Cleobury Mortimer and a number of Councils in T & W including Newport Town had already taken up the scheme with success. He had also introduced a new Road Safety Funding scheme which councils could apply for, the aim being to reduce deaths and serious injuries through speeding. Some Councils were already considering projects including traffic calming and speed indicator devices. John spoke of the work of street pastors - trained volunteers who assisted vulnerable people to get home safely. He had recently handed over a van to street pastors in Telford and one to those in Shrewsbury. In Oswestry, street pastors were also working during the day to keep those in the community safe. On performance overall, violence at night had dramatically reduced in Telford due to the hard work of the Police. There had been no spike in street violence in West Mercia compared to the rise elsewhere, although the numbers of those carrying knives had slightly increased. He would continue to address vehicle theft and anti-social behaviour making sure resources were available. Chief Supt Kevin Purcell addressed the meeting calling for people to get in touch with him if the police were seen as not getting it right. A number of questions and topics were discussed. He was challenged to tackle the anti-social behaviour of youths in Oswestry which was a major issue and urged those being targeted to report the incidents and raise them with the published police teams. The appearance of several cars at some incidents was because there was a threat of harm and risk to which the Police had to respond. He answered questions about increasing levels of child sexual abuse and domestic abuse and how his officers were responding. Speeding in Church Stretton was raised and he asked for more information with regard to extending the 20 mph speed limit. He was informed that there had been a lack of police response to two recent arson attacks on sheds in villages when an officer had indicated the police were unable to respond as there were only 8 on duty at that time. In response, the Chief Supt stated that he was ashamed to hear this as an excuse and reassured the meeting that there were 70 to 80 officers in the county in a day. He also gave assurance he would address this with his staff and wished to hear of any such reporting in the future. Responding to a final question, the PCC gave reasons why he had withdrawn from a strategic alliance with Warwickshire, which he believed was currently to the detriment of Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. The President thanked John and Kevin for their informative presentations and for answering questions and receiving comments which she felt assured they would take back for consideration. She then moved to the formal agenda for the meeting. AGM18/1804 APOLOGIES See list of apologies attached to the signed minutes. AGM18/1805 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 2

3 There were none. AGM18/1806 ELECTION OF HONORARY OFFICERS Vice- Presidents The President reported that the Constitution allowed for five Vice Presidents. The County Secretary had received notification that the four current Vice Presidents were willing to remain in post. A nomination had been received for Cllr Rae Evans to be elected It was proposed by Cllr J Alvey and seconded by Cllr R Abbiss that Cllr Rae Evans be elected as fifth Vice President. RESOLVED: That Cllr Rae Evans be elected together with the reappointment of the current Vice Presidents Cllr P. Dee, Mr E. Humphries, Cllr C. Mellings and Cllr M Shineton. The President welcomed Cllr Rae Evans to the Association. AGM18/1807 MINUTES OF 2017 AGM A copy of the minutes had been circulated. It was proposed by Cllr J Alvey and seconded by Cllr R Abbiss. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the 2017 AGM held on 23 February 2018 be agreed and signed by the President as a correct record. AGM18/1808 PRESENTATIONS Long Standing Clerks There were no applications for this award. Jan Snell Award This award was presented to Mrs Freda Morris, Clerk to Stottesdon and Sidbury Parish Council. The Council undertook a project to purchase a derelict pub car park and bring it back into use as an excellent, much needed parking facility for the doctor s surgery opposite and for community parking outside of surgery hours. The project was not without some major problems and legal issues. However, due to the determination and persistence of the Clerk and many additional hours of work and extra council meetings over a period of 8 months, the project was finally completed. The President then presented three further Commendation Certificates to Wem Town Council, Little Wenlock Parish Council and Easthope, Shipton and Stanton Long Parish Council. Cllrs P Dee and C Mellings received the award on behalf of Wem Town Council and Mrs J Madeley, Clerk, received the awards on behalf of Little Wenlock Parish Council and Easthope, Shipton and Stanton Long Parish Councils. The President said she would encourage more councils to apply next year. AGM18/1809 APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR FOR 2018/19 The President indicated that Shropshire Council had offered their services as auditors once again. It was proposed by Cllr R Abbiss and seconded by Cllr J Alvey. 3

4 RESOLVED: That Shropshire Council continue as Auditors to the Association. AGM18/1810 ANNUAL REPORT AND AUDITED ACCOUNTS The Chairman presented the report, which had been circulated. There were no questions on the report and it was proposed by Cllr Beechey and seconded by Cllr Dee. The President wished to record her thanks to Gail Power for her work noting the Association was in a healthy financial position. RESOLVED: That the Annual Report and Audited Accounts for be received and adopted. AGM18/1811 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEE The Chairman presented the recommendation as set out on the agenda, noting the small increase and this was proposed by Cllr D Beechey, seconded by Cllr P Dee. RESOLVED: That the Affiliation Fee be increased from to 0.33 per elector up to 3500, with no change to the fee of per elector over 3500 and the administration fees remaining at 60 ( 50 for councils with an electorate under 1000). AGM18/1812 REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION The President invited Vice President Cllr C Mellings to introduce the report which had been circulated. Cllr Mellings reported that the Executive Committee had set up a Task & Finish Group to review the Constitution, in particular around membership of the Executive as set out in paragraph 9 which was open to interpretation as it currently stood. The Task & Finish Group during its review noted the need for clarity around the voting membership and filling seats due to non-attendance. It was important to note that membership was based on councillors representing their Councils and their Area Committees. Appendix A of the report set out a revised paragraph 9 incorporating the recommended changes with sub headings for clarity. The Constitution calls for the Executive to keep under review the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Area Committees and for this purpose, a meeting was called to engage with Chairmen and Secretaries to seek their views. Cllr Mellings proposed the changes and this was seconded by Cllr Alvey. A vote was taken, with 24 voting for and 1 against. RESOLVED: That the recommended changes to the Constitution as set out in the report and clarified in a revised paragraph 9, as appended to the report, be approved, effective from 1 April AGM18/1813 MOTIONS FOR DEBATE The President invited Cllr Len Sambrook to present his motion which had been circulated. That Shropshire Council be formally requested by SALC to take no steps towards any amendment to the present arrangements in relation to the distribution of the Community Infrastructure Levy Local Fund without formal consultation with Shropshire s Parish and Town Councils. In speaking to the motion Cllr Sambrook stated that Shropshire Council had 12m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and he urged Shropshire Council to enter into discussion with parish councils to produce a compromise policy on distribution of 4

5 funding, adding that Shropshire Council had stated there was no change of policy. He was just asking for Shropshire Council for a consultation and to work together. Shropshire Unitary Councillor Joyce Barrow responded that there had been no change to CIL policy and that Cabinet had said they would be consulting and so she believed there was no need for the motion. Cllr Roger Evans stated that he had voted at a Scrutiny Committee against a Task & Finish Group report proposing the use of the CIL Local fund to fund the strategic needs of Shropshire Council and he had heard nothing since to change his vote, speaking against what was being done to local communities. The President confirmed that the meeting had received a commitment from Cllr Barrow. She asked if it was the wish of members that the motion go out to the Executive Committee with an invite to Shropshire Council to discuss the matter in more detail. Upon being put to the vote 12 voted for, 0 against, others abstaining. RESOLVED: That the motion discussed be referred to the Executive Committee noting Cllr Barrow s commitment and that Shropshire Council be invited to discuss in more detail how they will consult with Parish and Town Councils. The President stated that two further motions had been received after the deadline and these would also be referred on to the Executive Committee and Shropshire Council would be invited to attend and respond. AGM18/1814 PRESIDENT S CLOSING REMARKS The President thanked AFC Telford United for the use of their Training Room. She also thanked the officers, Executive Members, Vice Presidents, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Councillors and everyone for their attendance. The AGM ended at 7:20 pm. President: Date:. 5