Lack of physical council meetings questioned
It is “odd” that councillors could get together in a pub but can’t hold a socially-distanced annual meeting, a former town mayor has said.
A Wellington Town Council committee recommended holding the yearly event virtually in September, and all 20 members will discuss this proposal when they meet next week.
Councillor Phil Morris-Jones was the only Policy and Resources Committee member to vote against the plan, saying there was “ample room” at the town council’s premises and he was “against virtual meetings”.
In previous years, town and parish councils have been required to hold their annual meetings – where the mayor or chairman and other roles are chosen – in March, April or May, but the Coronavirus Act removed the need for them to be held at all this year.
Committee chairman Stephen DeLauney originally proposed scheduling a physical annual meeting in October, but reviewing this in August in light of the regulations as they exist then.
“At the moment, the council’s policy is to have an annual meeting at a date when we are allowed to have it with us sitting around a table and with the public in attendance, as per normal,” he said.
Ordinary Wellington Town Council meetings are currently conducted via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook.
Cllr Morris-Jones said: “It does seem odd to me that we could all go round to a local pub and have a drink, keeping social distance, and yet we can’t hold our meetings.
“I mean, we’ve got ample room, social distance could be observed and it could be open to the public, and we should encourage this openness.”
Cllr DeLauney said it would be “difficult” to maintain social distancing in town council’s meeting room, with councillors, staff and public observers. Councillor Angela McClements said she had recently had a physical meeting with Telford and Wrekin Council officers, and the logistics of moving around, entering and exiting the room made it “far more complicated than anyone thinks”.
Cllr DeLauney added that some councillors were old enough to be considered vulnerable to Covid-19, “and the last thing I’d want to do is put any of us or any members of the public at the slightest risk”.
Councillor Angela McClements asked: “Many town and parish councils have had virtual AGMs. Why is that not a consideration?”
The committee agreed to propose a virtual annual meeting on Tuesday, September 8. This recommendation will be discussed at a full session of the town council on Tuesday, July 14.
