Apologies had been received from Councillors Grimston and Nembhard MBE.

As all members had an interest in minute number 61, the Group Head of Democracy and Governance, as Monitoring Officer, had given a general dispensation to allow all members to vote and debate the item.

There were no other disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2023 to be submitted and signed. 

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 17 October 2023 were submitted and signed. 

The Chairman announced that the amount raised for charity was £741.94.

Remembrance Service

The Chairman advised that the annual Remembrance Service took place on Sunday 12 November at 3 pm at the Town Hall.  Representatives of the Council, along with many others, paraded from St Mary’s along the High Street to the Town Hall.  There was an excellent turn out to remember those who had taken part in the two World Wars and other conflicts since.

Chairman’s Event at Top Golf

The Chairman informed members that his event at Top Golf raised just under £1,200 for his chosen charity.

Holocaust Memorial Day

The Chairman stated that he had laid a wreath at the Anne Frank tree to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

King’s New Year’s Honours list

The Chairman congratulated all those across Hertfordshire who received an honour in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.

Neighbourhood Locality Funds

The Chairman reminded all councillors that their applications to spend their Neighbourhood Locality budget must be completed and submitted to Democratic Services by the end of February.

Related Party Transactions

The Group Head of Democracy and Governance had sent all members an email a week prior to the full Council meeting with a related party transaction form.  All councillors would be required to complete the form for the auditors.  The Chairman asked if all councillors could please ensure this was returned as soon as possible.

Council Vice Chairman 2024/25

The Chairman announced that at the next meeting, he would be announcing the nominations for the 2024/25 Vice Chairman.  Each person nominated would need to be proposed and seconded.  Council would then be asked to vote for their preferred candidate.

He advised members that the Democratic Services Manager would be writing to all councillors shortly with further details. 

Rotary Club Dinner

The Chairman announced that the Rotary Club would be having a dinner on the 17^th of February to celebrate their centenary.  He would be attending this with the Mayor and the Lord Lieutenant.  He noted Councillor Martins was the vice-president and have been doing some fundraising in the town, he then invited members to approach them with worthy causes. The Chairman stated that since the full Council he had attended many events.

Report of the Mayor

A report of the Mayor had been circulated with the agenda. 

The Chairman invited members to indicate whether they wished to ask a question of the Mayor.  Councillors Bell, Watling, Turmaine, Trebar, Martins, Dhindsa, and Ezeifedi indicated that they wished to ask questions.

The Mayor stated that his report was available and all members may ask questions about it.  He praised Watford for being named as the number one place to live and work in the Lambert Smith Hampton Vitality Index, having been third the previous year.

1. Councillor Bell asked if the Mayor regretted procuring the Arriva Click service, which ultimately failed.

The Mayor responded that the council had introduced a number of transport schemes, of which the majority had been successful and he did not regret trying things or delivering on promises made in his manifesto.

Councillor Bell asked a follow up question enquiring if the Mayor would apologise for the cost of the project.

The Mayor replied stating that he had no apology to make. He made a promise in his election campaign and delivered it.  He went on to say that, he was of the belief that there should be greater council control of bus services in Hertfordshire and that the current system was overly reliant on private companies.

2. Councillor Watling thanked the council for their work in reducing fly tipping and invited the Mayor to also thank the council for their work on reducing fly tipping.

The Mayor stated that he was keen to work with all councillors to tackle fly tipping.

3. Councillor Turmaine asked if the Mayor was aware of any postmasters in Watford affected by the recent Post Office scandal.

The Mayor answered saying that he was unaware of anyone who had been affected by the scandal but would be keen to support any that had been if he was made aware.

4. Councillor Trebar raised questions around supporting the parade in her ward with investment and funding for more green spaces and trees.

The Mayor replied saying that it was important to continue to invest in the local area and that Watford had a vibrant economy and he welcomed any further discussion around what needed to be done.  He highlighted the success of the tree-planting programme in Watford and encouraged all councillors to put forward suggestions of locations for new trees. 

5. Councillor Martins stated that Watford was challenged with planning related housing issues.  He cited a case where the government had overruled the council when they rejected a planning application and asked how this should be dealt with.

The Mayor commented that Central government had tripled housing targets for Watford. He continued by making the case for more local control of planning policy on housing targets.

6. Councillor Dhindsa commented that the Beryl bike scheme was a great system, but he noted that the standard of bikes and stands had deteriorated over the years.  He said he saw a number of bikes not left in bike racks and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

No questions had been received.

No petitions had been received.

No urgent business has been brought forward.

Report of the Electoral Services Manager

Council received a report of the Electoral Services Manager.  Various members of the council thanked Gordon Amos for his service to the council ahead of his retirement.

RESOLVED –

1. That the current arrangements for Callowland, Central, Holywell, Meriden, Nascot , Park, Stanborough, Tudor, Vicarage and Woodside wards, as set out in Appendix 1, continue without change.

2. That the existing polling place/polling stations within the School Hall at The Orchard Primary School for Leggatts Ward be retained in the knowledge that the school will remain open on future polling days with effect from 2 May 2024 without addition for the reasons set out in Appendix 2.

3. That the current arrangements for Oxhey Ward polling district LB continue unchanged for the foreseeable future following the 2023 Review.

Report of the Democratic Services Manager

Council received a report from the Democratic Services Manager in relation to members’ allowances.  Members were asked to review the recommendation of the Independent Members Remuneration Panel following the agreement of the local government national pay negotiations for 2023.

RESOLVED-

1. That the Independent Members Remuneration Panel’s suggestion that the basic allowance be increased by 4.59% from 1 April 2023 be approved.

2. That the Independent Members Remuneration Panel’s suggestion that the Mayor’s remuneration be increased by 4.59% from 1 April 2023 be approved.

3. That the Co-optee allowance for the Independent member for the Audit Committee be set at £1500 per annum be approved.

4. That there be no increases in the Special Responsibility Allowances or the Group Leaders Allowances until the next full review of the members allowance scheme in 2026.

Report of the Group Head of Democracy and Governance

Council received a report from the Group Head of Democracy and Governance. 

RESOLVED –

1. That an Independent Member of the Audit Committee is advertised for with a view to commencing on the committee from the start of the 2024 Municipal Year.

2. That a panel comprising the Chairs of Audit Committee and Finance Scrutiny Committee, Chief Finance Officer, and Group Head of Democracy and Governance be appointed to interview candidates with a view to making a recommendation to Council in March 2024.

         3. That remuneration for the position be set at £1,500 as recommended by the Independent Remuneration Panel.

Report of the Head of Revenues and Benefits

Council received a report from the Head of Revenues and Benefits.

RESOLVED –

That the Council adopts the new banded Council Tax Support Scheme for 2024/25 attached at appendix B.

Report of the Chief Finance Officer

Council received a report of the Chief Finance Officer setting out the budget proposed and agreed at the Cabinet meeting on the 15^th of January 2024.

The Mayor introduced the budget highlighting that it was designed to help Watford deal effectively with the current economic state.  He then moved the budget and council tax to be approved, which was seconded by Councillor Watkin.

Councillor Khan moved an amendment, detailed below, seconded by Councillor Bell.  The amendment was circulated prior to the meeting.

Labour Budget Amendments

Revenue Budget

Impact on reserves

Capital Program

The original motion and amendment was debated by Council. 

The amendment was put to the vote.

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 the votes were recorded as follows:

Those members voting in favour of the amendment:

Councillors Bell, Dhindsa, Ezeifedi, Khan, Shah, Smith, Trebar, Turmaine and Watling.

Those members voting against the amendment:

The Chairman Councillor Feldman, Mayor Taylor, Councillors Ahmed, Allen-Williamson, Clarke-Taylor, Devonish, Dychton, Hannon, Hill, Hofman, Jeffree, Johnson, Kloss, Martins, Newstead, Osborn, Pattinson, Rodrigues, A. Saffery, G. Saffery, Saunders, Stotesbury, Walford, Watkin, Wenham and Williams.

There were no abstentions.

The amendment was LOST by 9 votes to 26 with no abstentions.

The original motion was then put to Council.

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 the votes were recorded as follows:

Those members voting in favour of the motion:

The Chairman Councillor Feldman, Mayor Taylor, Councillors Ahmed, Allen-Williamson, Clarke-Taylor, Devonish, Dychton, Hannon, Hill, Hofman, Jeffree, Johnson, Kloss, Martins, Newstead, Osborn, Pattinson, Rodrigues, A. Saffery, G. Saffery, Saunders, Stotesbury, Walford, Watkin, Wenham and Williams.

There were no votes against the motion.

Those members abstaining:

Councillors Bell, Dhindsa, Ezeifedi, Khan, Shah, Smith, Trebar, Turmaine and Watling.

The original motion was CARRIED by 26 votes to 0 with 9 abstentions. 

RESOLVED –

1.      That Council:

a)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

No motions had been received.

The Chairman to move: that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during consideration of the item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Section 100(1) of the Act for the reasons stated below in terms of Schedule 12A.

Note: if approved, the Chairman will ask members of the press and public to leave the meeting at this point.

RESOLVED –

that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during consideration of the item there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Section 100(1) of the Act for the reasons stated below in terms of Schedule 12A.

Report of the Chief Executive

This report is considered to be Part B in accordance with Paragraphs 1 and 3, Part 1 Schedule 12A, as it contains information relating to an individual and the business affairs of an individual and the council.

Council received a report of the Chief Executive.

RESOLVED –

That having regard to the contents of the report, Council approves the recommendation.