19 April 2016 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting held on 19 April 2016 at 5pm in the Meeting Room, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Town Mayor Cllr N Dixon, Deputy Mayor Cllr L Emery, Chairman of Policy and Resources Cllr M Dyer, Deputy Chairman of CLR Cllr M Stiles and Chairman of Planning & Environment Cllr H Fickling.

Officer: Mr G Hunt (Town Clerk)

A Election of Chairman

It was moved and duly seconded that Cllr N Dixon be elected Chairman. There were no other nominations.

RESOLVED: That Cllr N Dixon be elected Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the 2015-2016 municipal year.

1 Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Cllr N Champken-Woods (Holiday), with Cllr M Stiles in attendance as his substitute.

2 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

3 Public Participation and Public Question

There were no requests for public participation.

4 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.

5 Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Officer

The report as provided with the agenda was the basis for discussion. It was noted that recruitment of a part time Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Officer had not been successful. The three potential ways forward were discussed in detail.

RESOLVED: That it be recommended to Council that the role be changed to full time (at a cost of an additional £17k per annum) and recruitment re-executed as soon as practically possible. Town Clerk to establish source of additional funding required beyond agreed budget for 2016-17. Budget to be updated for 2017 onwards (although likely to be covered by tax base increase and possible receipt of planning fees in due course).

6 Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer

The report and contract of employment as provided with the agenda was the basis for discussion.

RESOLVED: That the appointment of the Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer is formally confirmed.

RESOLVED: That the Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer’s Contract of Employment be signed by the Town Mayor.

7 Salary and Grades for 2016-17

The report as provided with the agenda was the basis for discussion and it was discussed in detail.

RESOLVED: That the recommendations as defined in paragraph 10 of the submitted report are implemented.

RESOLVED: (After the departure of the Town Clerk, at the end of the meeting): That the grade of the Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer be extended from SCP 43-51 (LC3 Substantive / Above Substantive) to include LC4 Below Substantive / Substantive) i.e. SCP 43-60 and to grade the Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer at SCP 55 from 1 April 2016.

8 Officer Appraisals 2016

The report and checklist as provided with the agenda was the basis for discussion and it was discussed in detail.

RESOLVED: That the appraisal process for 2016 will be as defined in the submitted report.
a) Town Clerk to be appraised by Outgoing Town Mayor and Incoming Town Mayor at some point in May 2016.
b) Town Clerk to appraise management team during June 2016.
c) Management team to appraise their line reports during July / August 2016.
all using the checklist as deployed in 2015, except for Car Park Attendants – who would continue to be appraised via a specific form for their role.

9 Thame Town Council Grading Levels

The report as provided with the agenda was the basis for discussion and it was discussed in detail.

RESOLVED: That the ranges relating to the existing grades be changed from 1 April 2017 to:
Grade 1: SCP 8 – 14 (which conveniently maps to NJC “Below LC scale” range
Grade 2: SCP 15 – 25 (which conveniently maps to NJC LC1 scale range)
Grade 3: SCP 23 – 29 (which maps to LC1 above / LC2 below)
Grade 4: SCP 26 – 34 (which maps to LC2 below / LC2 substantive)
Grade 5: SCP 30 – 38 (which maps to LC2 substantive / LC2 above)

The meeting concluded at 6.20pm

Signed …………………………
Chairman
Date: