Agenda and draft minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

(1)         Members must consider their interests, and act according to the

following:

(2)         Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)         Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in the business on the agenda. None were declared.

To appoint a Lord Mayor for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Steward moved, Councillor Waudby seconded, and Council unanimously

Resolved:  That Councillor Margaret Wells be elected Lord Mayor of the City of York for the ensuing municipal year.

Councillor Margaret Wells signified Acceptance of the Office of the Lord Mayor of the City of York, subscribed the Declaration of such acceptance and took the Oath of Allegiance prescribed by the law in that behalf.

To appoint a Sheriff for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Rowley moved, Councillor Fenton seconded, and Council unanimously

Resolved:  That Fiona Fitzpatrick be elected Sheriff of the City of York for the ensuing municipal year.

Fiona Fitzpatrick signified Acceptance of the Office of the Lord Sheriff of the City of York, subscribed the Declaration of such acceptance and took the Oath of Allegiance prescribed by the law in that behalf.

To appoint a Deputy Lord Mayor for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Wells as Lord Mayor moved, Councillor Orrell seconded, and Council unanimously

Resolved:  That Councillor Christopher Cullwick be appointed Deputy Lord Mayor for the ensuing municipal year.

Councillor Christopher Cullwick made and subscribed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of York and took the Affirmation of Allegiance prescribed by law.

The Sheriff advised Council that Janet Looker had been chosen to serve as Under Sheriff during this year of office, and thanked her for undertaking this service to the City.

Councillor Mason moved, Councillor Pavlovic seconded, and Council unanimously

Resolved: That Council express its sincere thanks to the outgoing Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for their services to the city during the past municipal year.

Councillor Widdowson moved, Councillor Waller seconded, and Council unanimously

Resolved:  That Council express its sincere thanks to the outgoing Sheriff and Sheriff’s Consort for their services to the city during the past municipal year.

To invite nominations for, and formally elect, the Leader of the Council for the 2024/25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Whitcroft moved, and Councillor Melly seconded, that Councillor Douglas be appointed as Council Leader.  On being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That Councillor Douglas be appointed as the elected Leader of City of York Council for the 2024/25 municipal year.

To receive a report which asks Council to:

(i)      Agree the allocation of seats in accordance with the arrangements set out in Annex A;

(ii)      Agree the delegation of approval of future changes to group allocations to the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer;

(iii)     Agree the appointment of the Council Leader and note the Executive appointments and respective portfolios to be approved by the elected Leader of the Council;

(iv)    Note the group nominations to Committees and other bodies, as well as appointments to Chairs and Vice-Chairs, as set out in the report and its annexes, together with details of any nominations and appointments which may be circulated prior to the meeting, in light of the Council’s duty to give effect to group nominations;

(v)     Waive political balance requirements in respect of the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation place, as noted in Annex B4;

(vi)    Agree the proposed allocation of motions for consideration at Ordinary Full Council meetings for the period 2024-2027; and

(vii)    In the event that the Leader of the Council notifies the Monitoring Officer of any changes to the Executive Portfolios, the Monitoring Officer to update the Council’s Constitution accordingly.

Cllr Douglas moved, and Cllr Kilbane seconded, the recommendations in respect of allocations to seats, appointments, and other matters, as set out in the report of the Director of Governance at pages 1-8 of the agenda papers, with reference to the annexes to that report and the revised annexes, B2, B3 and B4, in the Agenda Supplement.

On being put to the vote, the recommendations were declared CARRIED and it was

 Resolved: 

(i)            That the allocation of seats in accordance with the arrangements set out in Annex A to the report be approved.

(ii)           That the approval of future changes to group appointments be delegated to the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer.

(iii)          That the Executive appointments and the respective portfolios to be approved by the elected Leader of the Council (Annex B1) be noted.

(iv)          That the group nominations to Committees and other bodies, as well as appointments to Chairs and Vice-Chairs, as set out in the report and its annexes, together with details of any nominations and appointments which were circulated prior to the meeting, be approved, in light of the Council’s duty to give effect to group nominations.

(v)           That the political balance requirements in respect of the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation place, as noted in Annex B4 to the report, be waived.

(vi)          That the proposed allocation of motions for consideration at Ordinary Full Council meetings for the period 2024-2027 be agreed; and

(vii)         That it be noted that, in the event that the Leader of the Council notifies the Monitoring Officer of any changes to the Executive Portfolios, the Monitoring Officer will update the Council’s Constitution accordingly.

Reason: To fulfil the Council’s statutory and constitutional requirements.