1

MEETINGS

Meetings of the Council shall be held on such dates and times and at such places as the Council may decide.

2

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE CHAIRMAN

The person presiding at the Meeting may exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman in relation to the conduct of the Meeting.

3

PROPER OFFICER

Where a statue, regulation or order confers a function or duty on the 'Proper Officer'. that person shall be the Clerk to the Council.

4

PROPER OFFICER

It shall be the duty of the Clerk to advise the Council on the content and interpretation of these Standing Orders.

5

QUORUM OF THE COUNCIL

Three Members or one third of the membership shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not present when the Council meets or if during a Meeting the number of Members falls below the quorum for whatever reason, the Meetings shall be adjourned and business not transacted shall be transacted at the next Meeting or on such other day as the Chairman may decide.

6

VOTING

Voting shall be by show of hands unless the Meeting decides otherwise.

7

VOTING

If any Member so requests, the voting on any matter shall be recorded to show how each Member voted on that matter.

8

VOTING

The Chairman may give an original vote on any matter. Where there is an equality of votes the Chairman may, and where the matter relates to the election of a Chairman must, give a casting vote whether or not he or she gave an original vote.

9

ORDER OF BUSINESS

At the Annual Meeting of the Council the oprder of business shall be:
a)
To elect a Chairman of the Council and to receive his or her Declaration of Acceptance of Office (or if not then made to agree when it shall be made).
b)
To appoint a Vice-Chairman.
c)
To appoint representatives to outside bodies.
d)
To appoint Committees.
e)
For the appointed Committees to appoint the Chairman and Vice-Chairman,
and thereafter shall follow the order set out in Standing Order No. 10.

10

ORDER OF BUSINESS

At every Meeting other than the Annual Meeting, the order of business shall be:
a)
After consideration only as to their accurance, to approve the Minutes of the previous Council Meeting as a correct record.
b)
To consider motions submitted by Councillors in accordance with Standing Order No. 13.
c)
To receive for information the Minutes of Committees circulated with the Agenda for the Meeting and to consider any recommendations to Council set out therein,
and shall thereafter follow the order set out in the Agenda unless the Council decides otherwise on the grounds of urgency or procedural efficiency.

11

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

At all normal Meetings of the Council the Agenda will provide for the suspension of the formal Meeting for a maximum of twenty minutes to allow members of the public to put questions to the Council or to make comments.

12

MOTIONS
(i.e. a formal proposal put to a Meeting)

Except as provided by these Standing Orders, no motion may be moved unless the busines to which it relates has been included on the Agenda.

13

MOTIONS
(i.e. a formal proposal put to a Meeting)

Members may put an item or notice of motion on the Agenda by giving the Clerk written notice of the item or motion at least seven clear working days prior to the Meeting to which that Agenda relates. If a resolution or recommendation specified in the summons is not moved either by the Member who gave notice of it or any other Member, it shall, unless postponed by the Council, be treated as withdrawn and shall not be moved without fresh notice.

14

MOTIONS
(i.e. a formal proposal put to a Meeting)

Every motion, amendment or recommendation shall be relevant to some subject over which the Council has the power for which affects its area.

15

MOTIONS
(i.e. a formal proposal put to a Meeting)

Motions on procedual matters may be moved without notice including those to vary the order of business on grounds of urgency or procedural efficiency. Such motions shall be put to the vote without discussion.

16

RULES OF DEBATE

A motion or amendment shall not be discussed unless it has been proposed and seconded through the Chair.

17

RULES OF DEBATE

An amendment to a motion shall not have the effect of negating the motion.

18

RULES OF DEBATE

If an amendment is carried, the motion as amended shall take the place of the original motion and shall become the motion on which any further amendments may be moved.

19

RULES OF DEBATE

A further amendment to a motion may not be moved until the Council has disposed of the amendment previously moved.

20

RULES OF DEBATE

A Member shall not speak more than four times on any motion or amendment except:
a)
Where the Council agrees.
b)
To move an amendment (or further amendment).
c)
On a point of order.
d)
On a point of personal explanation (sucj explanation to be confirmed to a point made by him or her previously on which he or she may have been misunderstood).
e)
To allow the mover of a motion or amendment a right of final reply at the end of the debate before the vote is put if he or she requires it.

21

RULES OF DEBATE

No speech by a mover of a motion or an amendment shall exceed five minutes and no other speech shall exceed three minutes except by the consent of the Council.

22

RULES OF DEBATE

A motion to close a debate may be moved at any time but must be proposed and seconded without comment. The Chairman may refuse such motion if he or she feels that the question before the Council has not been sufficiently debated.

23

RULES OF DEBATE

The ruling of the Chairman on a point of order or on the admissibility of a personal explanation shall not be discussed.

24

RULES OF DEBATE

Whenever the Chairman rises to his or her feet during a debate all other Members shall be seated and be silent.

25

RESCISSION OF A PREVIOUS RESOLUTION

A decision of the Council (whether affirmative or negative) shall not be reversed within six months except by a special resolution, the written notice of which bears the names of at least eleven Members of the Council. When such a resolution has been disposed of, no similar resolution may be moved within a further six months.

26

DISICUSSIONS AND MOTIONS AFFECTING EMPLOYEES

If at a Meeting there arises any question relating to the appointment, conduct, promotion, dismissal, salary or conditions of service of any person employed by the Council, it shall not be considered until the Council has decided whether or not the press and public shall be excluded.

27

RESOLUTIONS ON EXPENDITURE

Any resolution (which is moved otherwise than in pursuance of a recommendation of a Committee of the Council) and which, if carried, would, in the opinion of the Chairman, substantially increase the Council’s expenditure or reduce its revenue, or which would involve capital expenditure, shall, when proposed and seconded, stand adjourned without discussion to the next ordinary meeting of the Council, and any Committee affected by it shall consider whether it desires to report thereon (and the Management & Policy Committee shall report on the financial aspect of the matter).

28

COMMITTEES

The Council at its Annual Meeting shall appoint the following Standing Committees which shall have the Terms of Reference set out at Appendix A to these Standing Orders.
a)
Estates and Recreation Committee - comprising 10 Councillors.
b)
Planning Committee - comprising 8 Councillors.
c)
Village Hall Committee - comprising 3 Councillors and an unlimited number of non-Council co-optees.
d)
Gala Committee - comprising 5 Councillors and an unlimited number of non-Council co-optees.

Those appointed to the above Committees will then elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman who shall hold Office until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

e)
Management and Policy Committee shall comprise of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council and the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of all the Standing Committees.

Every Committee may appoint Sub-Committees for the purpose specified by the Committee and may, when required, co-opt non-Councillor Members.

When Sub-Committees are created the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the parent Committee shall be a Member of every Sub-Committee appointed by it unless they signify that they do not wish to serve.

29

COMMITTEES

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council shall be a Member of every Committee.

30

COMMITTEES

The Chairman of a Committee may call an additional Meeting of that Committee at any time. An additional Meeting shall also be called if a written request from at least three Members of the Committee is given to the Clerk to the Council.

31

COMMITTEES

Standing Orders 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25 and 26 shall apply to all Committee Meetings as they apply to Council.

32

VARIATION, REVOCATION AND SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Any of these Standing Orders except those printed in bold type may be suspended by Resolution of the Council in relation to any specific item of business.

33

VARIATION, REVOCATION AND SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Any proposal to permanently add to, vary or revoke any of these Standing Orders, except those printed in bold type, shall require at least two thirds majority of the Council.

34

CLOSURE OF MEETINGS

Every Meeting of the Council and its Committees shall close at 10.00 pm unless a motion to continue is moved. Any unfinished Agenda items shall be carried forward to the next Meeting unless the Chairman considers it necessary to call for an additional Meeting.