To: The members of the Town Council
You are hereby summoned to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Town Council to be held at 7pm on Monday 23rd March 2020 in the Old Courthouse, Jaycroft Road, Burnham-on-Sea.
Yours sincerely
Cllr Andy Brewer
Chairman
18th March 2020
In the interest of public health, this meeting will be closed to press and public.
Minutes will be available on the Town Council website: www.burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk
AGENDA
- To receive any apologies for non-attendance
- To receive any declarations of interest in items on this agenda & note any dispensations granted
- To consider a business continuity proposal from the Town Clerk:
In light of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and government advice, this council resolves that:
(a) Should the council be unable to meet for whatever reason, the Town Clerk is given delegated authority to progress all ongoing matters and projects and authorise all regular payments and incur expenditure in line with the council’s agreed budget.
(b) Any decisions taken under resolution (a) above will be taken, whenever possible, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Council or the relevant committee chairman (if appropriate). A record of all decisions and expenditure incurred under delegated authority will be kept and reported to members when the council next meets.
(c) The authority to decide the Council’s response to planning applications is delegated to the Deputy Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman of the Planning Committee and Deputy Chairman of the committee. Whenever possible, members of the Planning Committee (or Council in the case of large applications) will be informed of applications out for consultation and will be invited to submit comments to the Deputy Clerk.
(d) The provisions outlined in resolutions (a-c) above will override any requirements to the contrary in the council’s standing orders, financial regulations or terms of reference.
(e) In the interest of staff, volunteer and public safety the Council office is closed to the public, except by appointment.
(f) In line with government advice, staff will be encouraged to work from home where possible.
(g) Should the Town Clerk be unable to perform her duties, the Deputy Clerk will be Proper Officer.
(h) Should the Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer not be able to perform their duties, the Deputy Town Clerk will assume the responsibilities of RFO for the purposes of making payments and meeting deadlines.
(i) The Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman of Council and Chairman of the Finance & Resources Committee, may incur expenditure from the grants earmarked reserve where such expenditure will help the community’s efforts to support those in need of assistance or prevent social isolation.
(j) Should government allow councils to meet virtually (online), the Council will take all reasonable steps to facilitate this.
- To consider a proposal from Cllr Phil Harvey & Cllr Peter Clayton that the Council approves an initial sum of £5,000 is earmarked from the grants budget to give emergency assistance, if required, to the Highbridge based food bank.
- Next scheduled meeting Monday 4th May 2020 (Annual Town Council Meeting)