Agenda and minutes

The Mayor received apologies for absence from Councillors Roy Barraclough and Rita Garner.

To elect the Mayor of the Borough until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2023.         

The Mayor to declare their acceptance of office.

It was proposed by Councillor Sally Smith and seconded by Councillor Emma Taylor that Councillor Henna Chowdhury be elected to serve as Mayor for the coming year.

Resolved that Councillor Henna Chowdhury be elected Mayor of the Borough of Worthing for the 2022-23 Municipal Year.

There was an adjournment whilst the newly elected Mayor received the Insignia and Robes.

Councillor Henna Chowdhury returned to the Chamber and made her Declaration of Acceptance of Office and then addressed the Council. 

(The Mayor, Councillor Henna Chowdhury, in the Chair)

To appoint a Deputy Mayor of the Borough until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2023. 

The Deputy Mayor to declare their acceptance of office.

The Mayor proposed that Councillor Rita Garner be appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor in 2022/23, the proposal was seconded by Councillor Martin McCabe.

Resolved that Councillor Rita Garner be appointed as Deputy Mayor for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

To receive and note the Return of Persons Elected at the 5 May 2022 Borough Council elections.

The Council noted the Returning Officer’s return of persons elected in the Borough Elections held on 5 May 2022.

Members and Officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made.           

To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on 5 April 2022, copies of which have been previously circulated. 

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2022 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Mayor.

A vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor was proposed by the Mayor, seconded by Councillor Kevin Jenkins and it was unanimously

Resolved  that the Council placed on record its sincere thanks to Councillor Lionel Harman for the fine manner in which he upheld the tradition of the Office of Mayor of the Borough, for his service to the community of Worthing during the past 2 years, and for the fair business like way in which he presided over the meetings of the Council during the past 2 years; and that the Council also expressed its sincere thanks to Karen Harman for the dedicated and friendly manner in which she carried out the duties of Mayoress.

The Mayor presented the outgoing Mayor with his Past Mayor insignia and Mrs Karen Harman with the past Mayoress’ insignia.

A vote of thanks to the outgoing Deputy Mayor was also proposed by the Mayor, seconded by Councillor Kevin Jenkins and it was unanimously

Resolved that the Council placed on record, its sincere thanks to Cllr Richard Nowak, for the fine manner in which he carried out the duties of Deputy Mayor, for his service to the community of Worthing during the past year and for his support to the Mayor.

To consider any items the Mayor has agreed are urgent.

There were no urgent items.

There were no announcements.

To elect the Leader of the Council for a term not exceeding four years; the person elected will serve as Leader for the remainder of their term of office as Councillor.

It was proposed by Councillor Carl Walker and seconded by Councillor Jim Deen that Councillor Dr Beccy Cooper be elected Leader of the Council.

Following a vote, the Council unanimously approved the proposal.

Resolved that Councillor Dr Beccy Cooper be the Leader of the Council for the period of her term of office as Councillor; namely to the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The Leader addressed the Council.

To consider a report by the Interim Director for Communities, attached as item 12. 

(Details of the nominated committee memberships will be published to the website when they are received from each of the Political Groups)

Before the Council was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, copies of which had been distributed to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 12.

The report outlined a number of decisions required by Council to ensure that the decision making structure for 2022/23 was determined according to the Council’s Constitution.

It was noted that an updated Appendix B had been circulated in advance of the meeting detailing the nominations for Committee Memberships from each of the political groups and the chair and vice-chair nominations from the leading group.

The Leader suggested that members of the opposition be nominated for the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair of the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) and the Worthing Overview & Scrutiny Committee (WOSC). In the absence of any nominations from the opposition groups, the Leader proposed Cllr Jon Roser as Chair of both JOSC and WOSC and Cllr Dan Hermitage as the Vice-Chair of JOSC and WOSC.

The recommendations outlined in the report, were proposed by Councillor Dr Beccy Cooper and seconded by Councillor Carl Walker.

Council unanimously approved the recommendations following a vote.

Resolved

That the Council

i)              noted the decision making structure of the Council and the political balance of the Council as detailed in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 and Appendix A.;

iv)        appointed to the Committees in accordance with the wishes of the Political Groups on the Council, as detailed in Appendix B (attached);

v)          that the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Committees, as detailed in Appendix B (attached), be appointed until the Annual Meeting of the Council in May 2023;

vi)         in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 39, the Council noted the appointment of the Leader of the Conservative Group on the Council, as the Leader of the Main Opposition.

To note the Youth Mayor and Deputy Youth Mayor for 2022/23.

Council noted that Henny Sonneman-Petty would be the Youth Mayor in 2022/23.

The Mayor announced that she was looking forward to their support during her mayoral year.