Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2011.

The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 19 July 2011 were taken as read and signed as correct.

On behalf of the Council, the Lord Mayor congratulated Councillor Catherine Dawson and her husband on the birth of their son, Isaac.

The Lord Mayor also congratulated Councillor James Taghdissian and his wife on their recent marriage.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 25 July 2011 were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal (*prejudicial) interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 25 July 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 5 September 2011 were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 5 September 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of 3 October 2011 were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 3 October 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee of 26 July 2011 were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal (*prejudicial) interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 26 July 2011 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee of 28 July 2011 were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 28 July 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee of 27 September 2011 were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal (*prejudicial) interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 27 September 2011 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community of 6 September 2011 were taken as read.

In response to a question on Minute 58 (Back Alley Waste Collection), the Chair undertook to confirm progress in relation to a review.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Community of 6 September 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Economy of 8 September 2011 were taken as read.

A member declared the following personal interest:

In response to a question, the Portfolio Holder clarified that a second ballot on the Business Improvement District (BID) was being considered because of the close result of the first ballot, in view of the great importance of the BID to the City.   The Chair undertook to update members on progress at the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Economy of 8 September 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Resources of 21 September 2011 were taken as read.

Members declared the following personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee - Resources of 21 September 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Final Accounts Committee of 22 September 2011 were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Final Accounts Committee of 22 September 2011 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive of 20 September 2011 were taken as read.

In relation to Minute 87 (Appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies), the following outstanding appointments were agreed:-

·         Exeter Dispensary and Aid in Sickness Fund – Cllr Crow

·         Exeter Fairtrade Steering Group – Cllr Taghdissian

In relation to Minute 86 (Central Heating – Rennes House – Decision Taken under Delegated Authority), the Chair undertook to request the Director Community and Environment to review the operation of inefficient heating systems in other sheltered housing accommodation in the City. 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive of 20 September 2011 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive of 4 October 2011 were taken as read.

Council agreed to the proposal to exclude the press and public from the meeting for consideration of Minute 105 (Senior Management Restructuring) in view of the exempt nature of the business.     

RESOLVED that Minutes 90 to 104 of the meeting of the Executive of 4 October 2011 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.  The three Directors, Assistant Chief Executive and Head of Treasury Services also left the meeting at this point.

Minute 105 of Executive held on 4 October 2011 was taken as read.

Councillor Taghdissian moved an amendment to the recommendation, proposing a small reduction in the salary levels of the Strategic Director, Assistant Director and Corporate Manager posts proposed in the new structure and the amalgamation of the posts of Corporate Manager (Democratic/Civic Support) and Corporate Manager (Legal).   Whilst welcoming the restructure in principle, he felt that it could achieve even greater savings. He considered that the proposed salary levels for senior management were disproportionately high in the current economic climate and in relation to the salaries of less senior staff.

Some members spoke in support of the proposed amendment stating that it was important to maximise savings from the exercise and preserve jobs.

Other members stated that the reorganisation followed a long period of consultation with staff and unions and reflected the specialist advice received from the Local Government Employers organisation. They felt that it would be wrong therefore to make spontaneous changes at this meeting without detailed consideration and information.  They emphasised that it was important to adhere to the Job Evaluation process and to pay benchmark rates in order to attract quality staff.  They considered that the proposed salaries reflected the range and complexity of the work undertaken by senior management.  

The Chief Executive informed members that this was a wholly new structure, that the new jobs entailed different levels of responsibility and accountability and that there would be a recruitment process in respect of all jobs and no direct assimilation.  He advised members that the proposed salaries were at the lower end of the benchmark range.

The amendment proposed by Councillor Taghdissian was put to the vote and lost.

Members welcomed the proposal to involve all group leaders in the determination of the outstanding detailed matters and an amendment was proposed to include the wording “or their nominees” in the resolution.  This was put to the vote and agreed. The amended substantive recommendation was then put to the vote and agreed.

RESOLVED that Minute 105 of the Executive held on 4 October 2011 be received and adopted subject to the following amendment to Recommendation 3:

“delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Leader of the Conservative Group and the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, or their nominees, to determine all outstanding detailed matters necessary to achieve the timely and effective implementation of these proposals.”