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Democracy Committee |
27 July 2015 |
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Is the final decision on the recommendations in this report to be made at this meeting? |
Yes |
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Options for the election of Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor |
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Final Decision-Maker |
Democracy Committee |
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Lead Director or Head of Service |
Zena Cooke |
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Lead Officer and Report Author |
Poppy Brewer |
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Classification |
Non-exempt |
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Wards affected |
All |
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This report makes the following recommendations to the final decision-maker: |
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1. That the current protocol for the election of Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor is reviewed. |
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This report relates to the following corporate priorities: |
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· Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all · Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough |
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Timetable |
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Meeting |
Date |
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Policy and Resources Committee |
NA |
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Council |
NA |
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Other Committee |
NA |
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Options for the election of Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor |
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1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 For the Democracy Committee to review the protocol by which a Mayor is elected and Deputy Mayor is appointed.
2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
2.1 The current process for the selection of a Mayor for appointment was agreed in 2007 and is included in the Constitution as Part 4.7, attached to this report as appendix A.
2.2 During the previous municipal year Members requested a review of the protocol, with particular regard to whether a councillor could be appointed to be Mayor more than once. Following informal consultation with Group Leaders it was recommended that the matter was looked at again in its entirety, after the change in governance system had been put into effect.
2.3 There are no statutory requirements that govern the election of a Mayor or appointment of a Deputy Mayor, and as such this process varies between local authorities. A sample cross section of how this process is conducted at other local authorities is included as appendix B. Included in this cross section are neighbouring borough authorities within Kent including Swale, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford Borough Councils, and also a randomised national selection of borough councils.
2.4 The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected and appointed at the council annual meeting of Full Council, held in May of each year. Conducting a review of the protocol now would allow time to put any changes into effect before the selection process for 2016 is due to begin.
3. AVAILABLE OPTIONS
3.1 The recommended option is that Committee review the protocols for the election of Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor, and decide whether to make amendments to this process.
3.2 The Committee could choose not to review or amend the protocol and could decide instead to continue with the current protocol as it stands.
4. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
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Issue |
Implications |
Sign-off |
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Impact on Corporate Priorities |
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Risk Management |
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Financial |
None |
Zena Cooke, Section 151 Officer
Suzan Jones, Finance Officer |
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Staffing |
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Legal |
None |
Donna Price, Corporate Governance Solicitor |
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Equality Impact Needs Assessment |
No implications identified |
Clare Wood, Policy & Information Officer |
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Environmental/Sustainable Development |
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Community Safety |
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Human Rights Act |
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Procurement |
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Asset Management |
5. REPORT APPENDICES
The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:
• Appendix A: Protocol to guide Councillors when electing the Mayor/appointing the Deputy Mayor and order of seniority of Councillors
• Appendix B: Sample cross-section of Local Authority protocols for the election of Mayor and appointment of Deputy Mayor
6. BACKGROUND PAPERS
None