ANNUAL MEETING
of the Withiel Parish Council
Minutes of the meeting held in the Village Hall
Wednesday, 15th May 2013
Present: Cllr Coy, Cllr Harper, Cllr Kirkby, Cllr Malone, Cllr Nott-Bower, Cllr Shearer, Cllr Thomas.
Absent: none
Parish Clerk: Mrs C Wilson.
Also Present: Cllr J Piper, Cornwall Councillor Chris Batters + members of the public.
The meeting began 5 minutes after the conclusion of the Annual Parish Meeting (7pm).
Chairman Piper invited the public to address the meeting. No one addressed the meeting.
1301. Election of the Chair. Chairman Piper presided. Cllr Thomas was elected Chairman by unanimous vote and duly signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office. Proposed Cllr Malone, 2nd Cllr Harper.
Cllr Piper stepped down and gave the Chair to Cllr Thomas.
1302. Election of the Vice-chair. Cllr Kirkby was elected unanimously. Proposed Cllr Malone, 2nd Cllr Thomas. The Chair declined the need for the Vice-chair to sign a Declaration of Acceptance of Office.
1303. 4. & 5. The election of the a) Parish Council representative on the Playing Field Assoc. committee, b) Footpath Officer, c) responsible officer for Council’s report for Withiel News & Views was postponed until the next meeting. Proposed Cllr Malone, 2nd Cllr Coy.
1306. Apologies for absence. None.
1307. Minutes.
a. The minutes of 1st May 2013 were deemed true and correct and duly signed by the Chairman. Proposed Cllr Thomas 2nd Cllr Harper.
b. Requests Forms for Minutes and Agendas by email. The Chair proposed that all Minutes and Agendas of the Council be sent by email to all Councillors and that all Councillors will then confirm receipt of the Minutes and Agenda by email to the Clerk. 2nd Cllr Malone. The Chair declined to have the Councillors sign Request Forms which stipulate exactly which email is to be used and also places the responsibility on the Councillors to let the Clerk know if their email is not functioning.
c. Posting on the Notice Board. Appointment of responsible officer. Decision postponed until next meeting.
1308. Clerk’s application for an additional Clerkship in a neighbouring Parish. The Clerk declared other employment has been offered her and asked for written consent as stipulated in her contract, Section 7.1. The Council resolved unanimously that this minute stand as written consent. Proposed Cllr Malone. 2nd Cllr Harper.
1309. Matters for report.
a. Members’ declarations of interest, to be completed by 3 June. The Clerk handed out the forms which she had recently received from Cornwall Council and requested they be returned to her so that she can make a copy before sending them off to County Council.
b. Members’ Return of Election Expenses, to be completed by 30 May. Some of the councillors have made their Return and handed it into the Clerk. The Clerk would like to make a copy before sending off the form.
c. Clerk’s request for 2-drawer filing cabinet. The Chairman said there is a filing cabinet in the Hall which is not being used and will be delivered to the Clerk.
d. Clerk’s request for 2 flash drives for Backup of electronic files and emails. The Clerk will look into the cost.
e. Clerk to report on PAYE/rti. The Clerk reported that Year End PAYE has been completed. She must still upload the RTI (Real Time Information) software and start reporting to HMRC via RTI on a monthly basis.
1310. Footpaths. Clerk will request tender for footpath maintenance in local magazines. Prospects must have proper insurance, but not necessarily be VAT registered as previously mentioned 6-3-13, Minute 5.b. This decision was postponed until the next meeting.
1311. Finance – Audit.
a. Internal Auditor’s Report. The Clerk read the Internal Auditor’s Report which makes 3 recommendations for the Council: 1) ensure all invoices have “Withiel Parish Council” on them so that VAT can be reclaimed. 2) Financial Regs. 2.2 delete “Internal Auditor”. 3) S/O Section 4 Code of Conduct be updated to reflect the Oct 2012 revised procedures. [These proposed revisions of S/O were handed out to the Councillors with their Induction Packs.]
b. Confirmation of the Annual Return for 1st Apr 2012 – 31st Mar 2013 for submission to the Audit Commission before 1st June. Each item 1-9 of the Annual Governance Statement 2012/13 was read aloud and it was resolved to Agree to each: 1) Proposed Cllr Thomas, 2nd Cllr Malone; 2) Prop. Cllr Nott-Bower, 2nd Cllr Kirkby; 3) Prop. Cllr Harper, 2nd Cllr Malone; 4) Prop. Cllr Thomas, 2nd Cllr Kirkby; 5-8) Prop. Cllr Thomas, 2nd Cllr Malone; 9) Not applicable.
c. Dates for Internal Control Checks (ICC). It was resolved that the ICC of the Council accounts will be done every 3 months, by no set person. Proposed Cllr Thomas, 2nd Cllr Kirkby. Thus, the dates will be at or near 15 Jan, 15 April, 15 July, 15 October.
1312. Finance. No cheques can be signed at this meeting because 2 signatures are required on each cheque.
a. Donation to Withiel News & Views. Cllr Thomas and Cllr Coy both declared an interest in this Item 12.a. and left the room. It was resolved that the Council will continue with its annual donation to the Withiel News & Views, the same amount as last year, £250.00. Proposed Cllr Kirkby; 2nd Cllr Malone.
b. Cheques 100464-70:
i. Clerk’s salary £411.16 & expenses £47.45, invoice and timesheet included with the minutes. The Clerk handed out a timesheet for 27.4 extra-ordinary hours during April , mainly due to the External Audit, PAYE setup and Election. She suggested the Council may wish to discuss the hours of the Clerk.
ii. CALC membership £133.63;
iii. SLCC membership £63.00;
iv. Bricknells £28.95;
v. CALC Year-end accounts training £24.00;
vi. Internal Audit £75.00;
vii. AON insurance £402.61. The Clerk highlights the urgent requirement for the payment because the insurance must be renewed before 1st June.
c. Bank signatures. The council will need at least 3-4 signatures so that 2 are always available. The Clerk gave the Mandate to Cllr Thomas who is still a signatory on the account from his previous time as councillor. Cllr Kirkby and Cllr Coy, who have personal HSBC accounts, will be the first to have their signatures on the account. More signatories will be approved in future.
1313. Planning.
a. Planning decisions. None.
b. Related correspondence. None.
c. Planning Applications. None.
1314. PCSO Paynter’s report. Read at the Parish Meeting earlier in the evening.
1315. Cornwall Councillor’s report. Our new councillor, CC Batters, introduced himself at the Parish Meeting.
1316. Business for the next meeting.
a. Standing Orders – Dispensations
b. Election of Parish Council representative on the Playing Field Assoc. committee.
c. Appointment of Footpath Officer.
d. Council’s report for Withiel News & Views. Appointment of responsible officer.
e. Footpaths. Clerk will request tender for footpath maintenance in local magazines. Prospects must have proper insurance, but not necessarily be VAT registered as previously mentioned 6-3-13, Minute 5.b.
f. Review of Clerk’s salary. [Closed Session.]
1317. Correspondence & Invitations.
a. CALC Code of Conduct Training. The Clerk has provisionally booked 7 places. Shire House Suite, Bodmin 7-9 pm, 10th June 2013. Cost is £12.50 + VAT per delegate. All Cllrs, except Cllr Harper who is not yet fully recovered, will attend.
b. CALC, other training in 2013. The Clerk advised the Council of other training on offer. The list is filed with the minutes.
c. Zurich Municipal have offered to quote Withiel Council for insurance. The Clerk will get a quote, though it is now too late to change because the AON policy ends 31st May 2013.
1318. Date of Next Meeting. Wednesday 5th June 2013, 7.15 pm.
The meeting closed at 8.40 pm with the Chairman thanking all those who attended.
Christine Wilson – Parish Clerk
22nd May 2013