09 July 2019 – Minutes
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting held on 9 July 2019 at 7:38pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.
Present: Mayor Cllr A Midwinter, Deputy Mayor Cllr P Cowell, Chairman of Policy and Resources Cllr M Dyer, Chairman of CLR Cllr N Champken-Woods, Chairman of Planning & Environment Cllr H Fickling and Chairman of Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Committee Cllr C Jones.
Officer: Mr G Hunt (Town Clerk)
1 Election of Chairman / Deputy Chairman
It was moved and duly seconded that Cllr A Midwinter be elected Chairman. There were no other nominations.
RESOLVED: That Cllr A Midwinter be elected Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the 2019-2020 municipal year.
It was moved and duly seconded that Cllr P Cowell be elected Deputy Chairman. There were no other nominations.
RESOLVED: That Cllr P Cowell be elected Deputy Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the 2019-2020 municipal year.
2 Apologies for Absence
None – all present.
3 Declarations of Interest and Dispensations
There were no declarations of interest or dispensations.
4 Public Participation and Public Question
There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.
5 Minutes
The Minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
6 Long Service Awards
The principle, quantum, frequency and backdating of the Long Service Awards Policy as proposed was all agreed, but before implementing, the Town Clerk was asked to investigate alternative methods of payment, such as gift cards (rather than cash via payroll) along with appropriate grossing up so the full value is received. It was further agreed that the result of such investigations would be discussed and agreed by e-mail in due course.
7 Exclusion of the Public
RESOLVED: That under Section 1, Paragraph 2 of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.
8 Asset Manager Replacement
The report as provided by the Town Clerk was discussed in detail, with various questions raised, mainly about the knock-on restructuring of the Community Services Manager’s team. It was agreed that the recommendation as proposed (to promote internally) was the best route.
RESOLVED: That as of Monday 22 July 2019 the Community Services Manager role is changed, that the current Committee Services Officer moves to the Asset Manager role and that the Community Services Manager is given authority to restructure her team in any way she sees fit in due course, subject to maximum increase of annual staff cost of £2,000 all in line with the tabled report.
9 Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer Replacement
The report and supporting documents as provided by the Town Clerk were discussed in detail, with various questions and suggestions raised. It was agreed that the recommendation as proposed (to recruit externally) was the best route, subject to: Qualified Clerk Status being mandatory; the possibility of a second interview stage being added; the Personnel Committee acting as the recruitment Working Group. Some concern was expressed at the clash with summer holidays. The potential of employing a locum clerk as a backstop in the event of recruitment not finding a candidate of sufficient quality was discussed.
RESOLVED: That replacement recruitment of the Town Clerk is commenced, as soon as practical, in line with the tabled report and supporting papers, as refined by the short term Working Group / Personnel Committee.
The meeting concluded at 8:30pm
Signed …………………………
Chairman
Date: