Minutes:
Discussion:
Councillor Buckwell, supported by Councillor Kemp, proposed the nomination of Councillor Tejan to the Office of Mayor of Medway for the forthcoming municipal year.
Councillor Maple, supported by Councillor Murray, proposed the following amendment:
“Add the following to the proposal to elect
Councillor Tejan as Mayor for 2019/2020:
and agrees to delete sections 20.1 and 20.2 of Rule 20 (Nomination of Mayor and Deputy Mayor), as set out in Part 1 (Council Rules) of Chapter 4 (Rules) of the Council’s Constitution:
20.1 The Mayor shall be elected by the Council from among the Councillors at the annual meeting and, unless a casual vacancy occurs, the Mayor shall continue in office until a successor is elected.
20.2 The Deputy Mayor shall also be elected by the Council from among the Councillors at the annual meeting.
and replace with the following to take effect from 1 January 2020:
20.1 Each political group as constituted in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990 shall be credited on the 1 January every year with a number of points equivalent to the number of members of the Council within that group. The term "political group" shall include an individual independent member of any group of independent members agreeing to be grouped for this purpose.
20.2 A report setting out the outcome of the calculations in accordance with the scheme shall be submitted to the first meeting of the Council after 1 January each year.
20.3 The political group with the highest number of points after the process described in paragraph 20.1 shall be invited to nominate a candidate for the Mayoralty in the ensuing year and shall, at the first ordinary Council meeting following such qualification, accept or decline the nomination.
20.4 In the event that two or more political groups have the same number of points and no agreement is reached between them as to which group shall have the right to nominate a candidate for the Mayoralty, the matter will be referred to Council for decision.
20.5 The formal procedure of election of that candidate as Mayor will take place at the annual meeting.
20.6 The political group nominating a candidate for the Mayor shall also have the right to nominate a candidate for Deputy Mayor.
20.7 In the event of any political group having the right to nominate the Mayor for the ensuing year declining to do so, that political group shall nevertheless be deemed to have exercised its right and its points shall be adjusted accordingly.
20.8 Any political group not having been represented on the Council for a continuous period of 15 months or more shall be eliminated from the points system.
20.9 The political group entitled to the Mayoralty shall be debited on 1 January with a number of points equivalent to the whole number of members of the Council.”
In accordance with Council Rule 16.2, this proposal was taken forward without discussion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council as it involved making changes to the Council Rules in the Council’s Constitution.
Following this, Councillor Tejan was duly elected.
Councillor Fearn, supported by Councillor Brake, proposed the nomination of Councillor Steve Iles to the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Medway for the forthcoming municipal year. Councillor Steve Iles was duly appointed. (Please note that Councillor Tejan chaired the meeting for the appointment of the Deputy Mayor).
The newly elected Mayor made the declaration required by law and signed the declaration of acceptance of office. The Mayor also accepted the ceremonial sword and silver oar as symbols of his office as Constable of Rochester Castle and Admiral of the River Medway from Sheerness to Hawkwood respectively.
The newly appointed Deputy Mayor made the declaration required by law and signed the declaration of acceptance of office.
The Chief Executive read out a message of congratulation for the newly elected Mayor received from Lieutenant General Sir Mark Mans for and on behalf of the Chief Royal Engineer.
The Mayor then addressed the Council and announced that his nominated charity would be Holding on Letting Go.
There followed musical performances by two Medway students, Noah Lock and Markus Sadler, from Dynamics – the Medway Music Education Hub Community Interest Company (CIC).
Councillor Kemp, supported by Councillor Chitty, proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Steve Iles. The outgoing Mayor, Councillor Steve Iles, responded to the vote of thanks.
Flowers were presented to the outgoing Mayoress, Councillor Mrs Josie Iles and the outgoing Deputy Mayoress, Mrs Tejan.
Decision:
a) The Council elected Councillor Tejan to the Office of the Mayor of Medway for the 2019/2020 municipal year.
b) The Council appointed Councillor Steve Iles to the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Medway for the 2019/2020 municipal year.