Civic Protocol
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Contents
A. Selection of Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Terms of
Office
The selection of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will
not be confined to any one party. He/she will be chosen on
merit. Where the political balance of the Council, however,
might depend on the Mayor's casting vote it is not unreasonable to
expect this factor to play a part in the selection procedure.
The term of office of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will normally be
for one year. Although not compulsory for Members to serve a
full term as a Councillor before becoming eligible for nomination
as Mayor or Deputy Mayor, it is desirable that they do.
The Deputy Mayor will normally succeed the Mayor (subject to
review in an election year).
There is a presumption against Members serving a second term as
Mayor and Deputy Mayor, if other willing candidates exist, but this
is ultimately a matter for decision of the Council. There is
also a presumption that Opposition Groups will have an opportunity
to nominate candidates.
B.
Procedure for Selection
The procedure for the selection of the Mayor
and Deputy Mayor will be as follows:-
(a) Early in the calendar year, nominations for
Mayor and Deputy Mayor should be discussed by Group Leaders prior
to discussion within the Groups themselves. Group Leaders
will then meet informally to discuss the nominations for Mayor and
Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year, and normally their
recommendations will be reported to the Selection and
Constitutional Review Committee immediately preceding the Annual
Meeting of the Council. The name of the Mayor and Deputy
Mayor elect may then be made public. This process does not
preclude nominations of any other Councillor for Mayor or Deputy
Mayor being made at the Annual Meeting, but the expectation is that
this should be avoided wherever possible.
(b) Group Leaders will also make recommendations to
the Selection and Constitutional Review Committee held immediately
preceding the Annual meeting of the Council as to which Members are
to propose and second nominations for the offices of Mayor and
Deputy Mayor.
(c) In an election year, however, the above procedure
may need to be revised to include a further meeting of Group
Leaders in the week following election week, in the event of the
nominated candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor not having been
re-elected.
Note: Amended by virtue of Minute No. 220/9/09
and Minute No. 293/12/10.
C. Responsibilities of the Mayor
The Mayor must be non-partisan in all that s/he does. The
main duties of the Mayor are set out below however a detailed
guidance note is issued to the Mayor and Deputy Mayor following the
Annual Meeting of the Council. (Minute No 556/4/03
refers). A copy is available from the Member Services
and Scrutiny Manager.
Council Duties
- To represent and promote the Council as a
whole in all Civic and Ceremonial matters.
- To preside over and Chair meetings of the
Full Council.
- The Mayor should encourage fair debate but
s/he has the casting vote.
- To uphold and promote the purposes of the
Constitution and to interpret when necessary.
- To publicise events of the Council and
encourage involvement in the Council’s activities.
- To promote the work of the Council.
- To determine, in the absence of a relevant
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairman whether an urgent decision
which is contrary to the policy framework may reasonably be
regarded as urgent in the circumstances. If the Mayor does
not agree, then the matter must be referred to the Full Council for
decision.
Public Duties
- To be the First Citizen of the Borough and
the focus of local democracy: to be visible, to listen to and
engage with the community.
- To represent the people of Ashford Borough,
both within the Borough area and externally.
- To support voluntary organisations.
Borough Duties
- To represent the Borough.
- To promote the Borough as a place to live:
through appropriate external contacts.
- To promote the Borough as a place to visit:
through external contacts, and tourism events.
- To promote business in/into the Borough: both
in terms of existing businesses and potential inward
investors. (The Mayor should be briefed by the Economic
Development team and other appropriate Officers on a regular basis
and, in turn, feed back to appropriate Officers on contacts,
issues, etc).
- To be involved in events marking the
achievement of major milestones in Ashford’s growth (Minute No.
293/12/10 refers).
D. Annual Meeting of the Council
The following represents the procedure and
order of business for the Annual Meeting.
(a) Election of
Mayor
(i) Retiring Mayor enters
wearing robes and Chain and takes the Chair.
(ii) Prayer.
(iii) Retiring Mayor calls for
nominations.
(iv) Nomination moved by Councillor
......................
(v)
Nomination seconded by Councillor .......................
(vi)
Retiring Mayor declares result of election (where one nomination
only it must be put to the vote).
(vii) Chief
Executive then reads out Declaration of Acceptance of Office and
the new Mayor signs Declaration
after signifying acceptance.
(viii) The
Robing Party then retires from the Council Chamber in the following
order:-
Mace Bearer
Retiring Mayor
Chief Executive
New Mayor
Chaplain (Retiring Mayor's Chaplain)
NOTE: * It
is essential that the retiring Mayoress and the new Mayoress are
present in the Council Chamber from the commencement of the Annual
Meeting, and in order that the new Mayoress may receive her Chain
of Office, both the retiring Mayoress and the new Mayoress should
leave the Council Chamber, together with the new Mayor’s Chaplain
at the rear of the Robing Party. On return, in advance of the
newly elected Mayor, they should be escorted along with the
retiring Mayor, into the Council Chamber and take their respective
seats.
Where
appropriate for “Mayoress” please read “Mayor's
Escort/Consort”.
(ix) The Robing Party then return to the Council
Chamber in the following order:-
Mace Bearer
Mayor
Chief Executive
Chaplain (new Mayor's Chaplain)
(x) Prayer.
(b) Appointment of Mayor’s
Chaplain
(c) Vote of thanks by the Mayor
for his/her election
(d) Votes of Thanks to the
Retiring Mayor and Mayoress
(i) Moved by Councillor
...................
(ii) Seconded by Councillor
.....................
(iii) Presentation of badges by the
new Mayor to the retiring Mayor and Mayoress.
(iv) Presentation of floral gift by the new
Mayoress to the retiring Mayoress.
(v) Retiring Mayor's Response (to
include Vote of Thanks to Chaplain - where applicable).
(vi) Presentation of floral gift by retiring
Mayoress to new Mayoress.
(e) Election and Appointment of
the Deputy Mayor
(i) Mayor calls for
nominations.
(ii) Nomination moved by
Councillor ....................
(iii) Nomination seconded by
Councillor .......................
(iv) Mayor declares result of election
(which must be put to the vote even if only one nomination).
(v) Chief Executive then reads out
Declaration of Acceptance of Office and the Deputy Mayor signs
Declaration
after signifying acceptance.
(vi) Deputy Mayor invested with
his/her Chain of Office by the Mayor.
(vii) Deputy Mayoress invested with
her Chain of Office and presented with a floral gift by the
Mayoress.
(f) Minutes
(g) Apologies
(h) Election of the Leader of the
Council (Note: in election years only as Leader will
normally serve a four year term.
Minute No. 324/12/10
refers).
Moved by
Councillor............... ) no formal arrangement
for
Seconded by
Councillor ......... ) selecting mover or seconder
(i) To note the number and
names of those Members appointed by the Leader to the
Executive.
(j) To note the Member appointed by
the Leader as Deputy Leader.
(k) To consider the Minutes of the
meeting of the Selection and Constitutional Review Committee
NOTE: (i) The Head of Legal and
Democratic Services is responsible for determining the political
balance and allocation of
seats to political
parties on Committees and Sub-Committees in accordance with the
provisions of the Local
Government and Housing
Act 1989 and associated Regulations. The figures arising from
these calculations are not
ified to Group
Leaders.
(ii) Group Leaders make nominations to fill their allocations
on Committees and Sub-Committees. The majority
party
or groups forming the
administration should also indicate in its/their list(s) the names
of the Chairman and Vice-
Chairman Designate for
each Committee and Sub-Committee.
(iii) The Selection and Constitutional Review Committee will
receive a report upon these issues and make
recommendations to the
Annual Meeting of the Council as to the appointment of Chairmen and
Vice-Chairmen; the
names of Ex-Officio
Members and of persons to represent the Council on other
bodies.
(l) At the conclusion of business
included on the Summons for the Annual Meeting of the Council, the
Mayor will invite all present to take refreshments with
him/her.
E. Civic Services
Order of precedence for Civic Services:-
(a) The Vicar
(b) The Mace Bearer
(c) His/Her Worshipful the Mayor and the
Mayoress*
(d) Chief Executive and Mayor's Chaplain
if not the Vicar
(e) High Sheriff (and Chairman of Kent
County Council if attending)
(f) Deputy Mayor (and Chairman of
the Parish Council/Meeting if not in Ashford)
(g) The Town Mayor of
Tenterden
(h) The Leader of the Council and Member
of Parliament
(i) Members
of the European Parliament
(j) Other
Group Leaders
*Where appropriate for "Mayoress" please read
"Mayor's Escort/Consort".
NOTE: (i) If the Lord
Lieutenant of Kent is present, s/he will accompany the Mayor in
Civic Procession. The Mayoress would then accompany the Chief
Executive.
(ii) If the Chairman of Kent County
Council is an Ashford Member, s/he should be included within the
Procession.
(iii) The MEPs and Town Mayor of
Tenterden.
The remainder of the Members with their
families should take their places prior to the arrival of the
procession, in seats reserved beforehand for this purpose.
The Member Services and Scrutiny
Manager will determine seating arrangements in consultation
with the Mayor. If it is required by the Vicar that His/Her
Worshipful the Mayor should be the last person to enter the Church,
then the procession will start at (d) above. In this event
(a) - (c). above follow in that order at the end of the
procession. Arrangements will be made for refreshments
following the service in accordance with the Mayor's wishes.
With the exception of the above, arrangements
for the Civic Service are at the discretion of the Mayor and
his/her nominated Chaplain.
F. Visits by Royalty
Protocol regarding visits by Royalty to be considered when the
occasion arises.
G. Church Services
The Council should be represented at the Remembrance Day Service
in Ashford, and the Ashford and Stanhope Members should be asked to
support the Mayor. All other Members should be notified of
the service recognising, however, that they may wish to attend
services in their own wards. The Member Services and Scrutiny
Manager is responsible for making the necessary arrangements for
the attendance of the Civic Party at the Remembrance Day Service,
although it must be borne in mind that the laying of the wreaths
and church service are organised by the Royal British Legion.
Changes to the Order of Procession from the
Parish Rooms to the Memorial Gardens were made in 1998 by which the
British Legion Standard Bearers, the President and Vice President
of the British Legion, all wreath holders and the Heads of the
respective Service Units formed up and processed with the Borough
Council Procession. Refreshments are provided for the Civic
Party in the Church Hall prior to the procession to the War
Memorial and to the Church Service.
H. Mayor's Civic Garden Party
If financial provision is made for a Civic
Garden Party the guidance set out below will apply:-
The Garden Party is recognised as the
principal civic function in each Mayor's year of office.
The following points are to be borne in mind
when making the necessary arrangements for the event:-
(a) Invitations to bear the Coat of
Arms
(b) Venue is normally decided by the
Mayor
(c) Lists of guests to be compiled by the
Mayor in consultation with the Chief Executive and Group
Leaders.
(d) There is no formal table plan as it
is normally a 'buffet style' Garden Party
(e) All Mayors/Chairmen and escorts from
other Kent Districts, Members and spouses, Directors and spouses to
be invited to the Mayor's Garden Party with distinguished guests
from the public service such as the Member of Parliament and the
High Sheriff, the Chairman and Leader of the County Council, County
Councillors, together with representatives of the local community
and the Mayor's personal guests.
I. Mayor's Charity Work - "The Ashford Mayor's Charity"
The Mayor of Ashford’s Charity is a registered
Charity (registration number 1071343) and was formed in 1998.
The objects of the Charity are:-
(a) to promote any charitable purpose for
the benefit of the community and the Borough of Ashford and, in
particular, the advancement of education, the protection of health
and the relief of poverty, distress and sickness;
(b) such or any charitable purpose for
the general benefit of the inhabitants of the Borough of Ashford as
the Trustees shall think fit.
The Constitution of the Charity provides that
the Trustees shall be:-
(a) the holder for the time being of the
post of Chief Executive;
(b) the Leader for the time being of
Ashford Borough Council;
(c) the current Mayor;
(d) an external person who shall be
invited by the Trustees to hold the position of Trustee on a yearly
basis.
The advantages of the Mayor’s Charity
are:-
(a) its designation as a registered
Charity is conducive to fundraising and a comfort to donors in
knowing that they are dealing with an organisation overseen by the
Charity Commissioners;
(b) the accumulated fund can earn
tax-free interest;
(c) the structure of the Charity offers
flexibility as it allows instantaneous recognition of disasters or
newly recognised deserving causes;
(d) it reduces the prospect of
“impossible objects” as funds can be carried over into future
mayoral years;
(e) it allows any Mayor with the consent
of other Trustees to declare a specific recipient for the year’s
funds.
The Secretary of the Mayor’s Charity is Colin
Mawston (01233) 330215 who provides legal and administrative
support to the Charity.
The Civic Engagement Officer will not be
involved in any Charity fundraising events other than the Mayor’s
Charity Ball. The private hire company will, however, drive
the Mayor to and from an event connected with the Charity.
The Civic Engagement Officer will, should the Mayor wish, bank
monies in connection with the Mayor’s Charity.
J. Gifts Received by the Mayoralty
The Code of Conduct makes it clear that the
acceptance of gifts should be treated with extreme caution and
accordingly the following guidelines should be borne in mind:-
(a) Gifts received by the Mayoralty which
are clearly not of a token or personal nature, other than gifts
donated for the benefit of the Mayor's nominated charity, are to
become the property of the Council and should be placed in the
Mayor's Parlour for use or enjoyment there, or failing that, placed
elsewhere in the Civic Suite.
(b) Gifts that are not suitable for
placing in the Mayor’s Parlour or the Civic Suite are to be used or
otherwise disposed of as the Council may direct.
(c) The acceptance of gifts and
hospitality by the Deputy Mayor which are not of a token or
personal nature should also be carefully considered and recorded in
the Register of Gifts, Hospitality by Members kept by the
Member Services and Scrutiny Manager. This is
particularly important in view of the Deputy Mayor’s continued role
in the committee decision - making processes. The Deputy
Mayor will also need to consider whether to declare interests at
Council and Committee meetings where matters affecting the
interests of the donor of such gifts or hospitality could be under
consideration.
K. Mayoral Transportation Arrangements
The Civic Engagement Officer will make all the
transportation arrangements for the Mayor and will advise on
collection times etc..
Next -
Officer's Code Of Conduct
This webpage was updated on
5/9/2011