30 October 2018 – Minutes

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of the Personnel Committee Meeting held on 30 October 2018 at 8:05pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present: Chairman of Policy and Resources Cllr M Dyer, Chairman of Community, Leisure & Recreation Cllr M Stiles, Chairman of Planning & Environment Cllr H Fickling and Chairman of Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Committee Cllr R Austin.

Officer: Mr G Hunt (Town Clerk)

A. Election of Chairman for this meeting

In the absence of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, it was agreed by those present that Cllr Mary Stiles would be chairman for this meeting.

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 2018-2019 municipal year.

It was moved and duly seconded that Cllr L Emery be elected Deputy Chairman. There were no other nominations.

RESOLVED: That Cllr L Emery be elected Deputy Chairman of the Personnel Committee for the 2018-2019 municipal year.

2. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Town Mayor Cllr A Midwinter (Unwell) and from Deputy Mayor Cllr L Emery (Mayoral Commitment).

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 31 October 2017 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

6. 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.

7. Appraisal Outcomes

A brief report was provided by the Town Clerk. It was noted that there were no issues that required consideration by the Personnel Committee, except the planned retirement of the Town Clerk. It was noted that a target retirement date of 31 March 2020 has been defined, but that the Town Clerk would be fully flexible with regards to dates / handover, and that direct replacement recruitment following existing processes and best practice would start in December 2019. If necessary, a further meeting of the Personnel Committee would be scheduled after the election of a new Council, in the summer of 2019.

8. Staffing Matters

A brief report was provided by the Town Clerk. It was noted that there were no issues that required consideration by the Personnel Committee, that the team was happy, motivated and performing to the best of each person’s respective abilities. Members of the Committee expressed appreciation at the continued achievement of further qualifications, take–on of further responsibility and general effectiveness of everyone in their roles.

9. Staffing Costs

The report and draft 2019-20 Staff Costing spreadsheet as provided with the agenda were the basis for discussion.

The predicted outturn for 2018-19 was noted as an overspend of £13k (2.5%) mainly due to: the level at which new members of Grounds Maintenance team were recruited (+£4k); actual pay award of 2% as opposed to budgeted 1.5% (+£2k); and full time replacement / overlap of Office Administration Manager (+£7k).

The draft spreadsheet for 2019-20 showed an increase of £29.7k (5.6%) roughly made up of:
+£11.5k Agreed 2% basic pay increase – as decided by National Joint Council
+£4k Maintenance Team Recruitment at a more experienced level
+£4k Full time replacement of Office Administration Manager
+£5k Recommended promotions
+£5k Extension of Market Town Co-Ordinator hours

Only the promotions / extension of hours aspects were in the Personnel Committee’s control.

It was noted that further increases at the lower end of the pay scale, yet to be formally communicated, may lead to a further £2.5k of cost, but that would be absorbed in the outturn for 2018-19.

It was additionally recommended by the Town Clerk that if the extension of hours was agreed for the 2019-20 period, that consideration be given to extending the hours from 1 January 2018.

Further discussion took place on the Town Clerk’s recommendations, and other suggestions by Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED: To accept the Town Clerk’s promotional recommendations for implementation from 1 March 2019 and to accept the Town Clerk’s extension of hours recommendation for implementation from 1 January 2019.

The meeting concluded at 8:32pm

Signed …………………………
Chairman