Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillor Jan Brown advised that she knew Community Councillor Michael Russell but did not consider that she had a relevant connection which would affect her decision making and as such would remain in the meeting.

 

Community Councillor Kenneth Smith advised that he knew Community Councillor Michael Russell but did not consider that he had a relevant connection which would affect his decision making and as such would remain in the meeting.

 

Community Councillor Mary Braithwaite advised that she knew Community Councillor Michael Russell but did not consider that she had a relevant connection which would affect her decision making and as such would remain in the meeting.

 

Report by Governance Manager, Legal and Regulatory Services

Councillor Green welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure which would be followed and ascertained that everyone understood the procedure.

 

Councillor Green invited the complainant to give a summary of the terms of his complaint. 

 

The complainant advised that his complaint had been set out fully in his letter of 10 June 2024 regarding the Community Council’s repeated failure to advertise their meetings in advance.  He reported that the Community Council did not acknowledge his complaint, and they failed to refer the complaint to the Council’s Community Council Liaison Officer.

 

He advised that there were several points in the Community Council’s response that he wished to address –

 

1.    It was stated that “The AGM had been included in the meeting schedule at the end of our minutes since the beginning of 2024, all of which we posted in a timely manner and several of which were posted on noticeboards. In other words, the AGM itself was well-trailed for the six months before the June date.”, however the complainant stated he had very rarely seen any notices displayed on noticeboards in the Community Council area.

 

2.    It was stated that “Meeting notices, agendas and minutes have been posted when possible on physical noticeboards (Glendaruel Village Hall, Colintraive Hotel and Colintraive Village Hall)” , however the complainant advised that he attended Glendaruel Village Hall that morning and although there was a notice intimating that a meeting would be held next week there was no agenda and no previous minutes displayed.

 

3.    It was stated that “the CGCC Secretary stood down on the 7th September citing the tone, frequency and content of correspondence received over the past twelve months as being intolerable. This resignation happened after the complainant had behaved aggressively towards CC members at a meeting on 21st August which was convened to discuss local views on recently published plans for the 2025 Argyll Rally”.  The complainant advised that he had spoken to the previous secretary who confirmed that the first point regarding his resignation was correct however the second point were not his words and not the reason for his resignation.

 

4.    It was stated that the locations of the noticeboards were Glendaruel Village Hall, Colintraive Village Hall and Colintraive Hotel and that “no councillor lives within 4 miles of any of the noticeboards, and as a community we find the majority do depend on online notifications, with anyone without online access informed by those that have.” However, the complainant advised there was no reason that he could see as to why notices could not be placed in these noticeboards in a timeous manner.

 

5.    It was stated that throughout 2024 the Community Council were struggling with capacity however the complainant did not accept this should stop the advertising of agendas and minutes as that was a requirement of the Community Council.

 

Councillor Green then invited the Community Council representative to provide his response to the complaint. 

 

Mr Dixon-Spain stated that capacity had been an issue that the Community Council had faced on a regular basis and while they understood the importance of governance and procedures being adhered to, physically placing paperwork on noticeboards had always been an element they had found difficult.  He advised that they had recruited another Community Councillor and were in the process of recruiting a secretary which was a paid position.

 

Mr Dixon-Spain advised that the Community Council post notices of meetings, agendas and minutes online, and the minutes always contain the schedule of meetings.

 

He further advised that the Community Council had not referred the complaint to the Community Council Liaison Officer as they felt they had addressed the issues raised at the time.

 

Regarding the resignation of the previous secretary, Mr Dixon-Spain advised that the reasons put forward in their submission was their collective recollection.

 

He stated that the Community Council understood the gravity of the situation but felt that the majority of the community were satisfied with how they carry out their role.  He further advised that while they agreed that good governance was critical for Community Councils, they did not think this process had been the best use of their time.

 

Questions

 

Community Councillor Braithwaite asked Mr Dixon-Spain how the Community Council encourage community engagement and share information and he advised that they have a lot of communication with a number of local community groups and a good relationship with the community as a whole.

 

Community Councillor Braithwaite then asked if the website was used for publishing minutes and agendas or were they only posted on Facebook as there appeared to be some minutes missing from the website.  Mr Dixon-Spain advised that if there were minutes missing from the website it had been an oversight which he would ensure was rectified following the Hearing.

 

Community Councillor Braithwaite enquired about public attendance at Community Council meetings and Mr Dixon-Spain advised that while they had held meetings where no community members had attended they did see a large number of attendees when discussing big issues.  He further advised that when they have appointed a secretary part of their remit would be to explore the use of Zoom for future meetings to allow people to join remotely.

 

Councillor Brown asked if the notification for the meeting on 10 June 2024 had been advertised on the community noticeboards and Mr Dixon-Spain advised that it had been, but not in sufficient time as prescribed by the Standing Orders.

 

Councillor Brown then asked if the Community Council had an email contact list which Mr Dixon-Spain stated they did not, but they would consider utilising that method of communication.

 

Councillor Brown stated that she was familiar with the areas where the noticeboards were situated and enquired why a Community Councillor could not place the notices.  Mr Dixon-Spain advised that they recognised that some critical administrative duties were lacking and it was one of the reasons they would be employing a secretary.  Councillor Brown enquired if the paperwork for the next meeting had been placed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.