No apologies for absence were received.

Councillor Fidelis Gadzama, sent his apologies that he would be arriving late.

No declarations were received.

The Mayor called for nominations for the office of Mayor for 2014-2015.

It was moved by Councillor Stephen Alambritis, and seconded by Councillor Edith Macauley that Councillor Agatha Akyigyina be elected as Mayor for 2014-2015

Councillors Oonagh Moulton and Peter Southgate addressed the meeting expressing their support for the nomination.

There not being any other nominations the Mayor put the motion to the meeting and it was

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

That Councillor Agatha Akyigyina is the duly elected Mayor of the London Borough of Merton for the Municipal year 2014-2015.

Councillor Agatha Akyigyina made the statutory declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the Mayor’s chain and badge of office.

The Mayor announced that her Deputy Mayor of the Municipal year 2014-2015 would be Councillor Laxmi Attawar.

Councillor Laxmi Attawar signed the declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the Deputy Mayor’s badge of office.

The Mayor announced that her consorts would be Councillor Charles Ocansey, Teresa Ocansey and Charlie Ocansey.

The Mayor announced that her Chaplain as Father Patrick from Catholic Church of Our lady of the Assumption.

The Deputy Mayor announced that his consort would be Rami Attawar and Sally Rance.

The Mayor presented badges to the outgoing Mayor and Mayoress.

The Mayor, Councillor Agatha Akyigyina, thanked Council for her election for the forthcoming year. The Mayor stated that her charities would be ‘Merton Street Pastors and Shooting Star Chase.

The Mayor invited former Councillor Krystal Miller to the dais to receive the Council’s vote of thanks.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Alambritis, moved and the Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Oonagh Moulton, seconded the vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor. 

In doing so both Group Leaders and the Leader of the Merton Park Ward Independent Residents Group, Councillor Peter Southgate spoke in praise of Krystal Miller’s year in office. A copy of all their speeches is attached as appendix A to their minutes. Councillor

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That the Council places on record its sincere thanks and appreciation to Councillor Krystal Miller, for the dedicated manner in which she has served as Mayor of the London Borough of Merton for the year 2013-2014.

Mayoral Citation:

Councillor Krystal Miller Mayor of Merton 2013-2014

At the time of her election as Mayor in May 2013, Councillor Miller had completed seven years as a councillor for Trinity Ward in Wimbledon. She has been a hands-on, community-focused and energetic mayor, undertaking many charity fundraising events and numerous civic engagements.

The Mayor’s main charities for 2013-2014 were ‘Home Start Merton’ and the Polka Theatre. With both charities working to help children in Merton, the Mayor has been very focused on the development of the borough’s young people. Councillor Miller supported several school and youth theatre events during her mayoral year as well as meeting with many Merton parents through her charities.

As a youthful and innovative Mayor, Councillor Miller challenged mayoral traditions by volunteering in manual work, developing her own creative material for events and engaging with people on social media, as well as making an admirable move to have a multi-faith representative giving the opening prayers at the council meetings she chaired. Balancing working life with charity efforts, Councillor Miller worked hard during her mayoralty to raise in the region of £40,000 for her charities.

The Mayor organised a variety of events that were great fun, including a quiz night, a ‘Rock Choir’ concert, Christmas celebration as well as the annual Mayor’s Ball. This last event had a ‘Love Merton’ theme to highlight the good work that residents and volunteers do in Merton to make the borough a better place. Over 200 guests helped raise more than £19,000 at the ball.

The Mayor was proud to represent the borough at civic events throughout the year, including the commemoration of Remembrance Day, Armed Forces Day, a Nelson Mandela Memorial Service and the London Mayor’s Association Annual Civic Service event at the Abbey of Westminster.

The Mayor is particularly noted for her focus on volunteering and often took a hands-on approach in her support of various charitable events throughout the year. During Christmas, she helped the Doxa Deo Church to pack up over 500 hampers to go to families in need across the borough. The Mayor also worked with volunteers to clear out a disused area at the back of the Citizens Advice Bureau in Mitcham to make the centre a nicer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Mayor asked for nominations for the position of Leader of the Council.

It was moved by Councillor Mark Allison and seconded by Councillor Marsie Skeete that Councillor Stephen Alambritis be elected Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Stephen Alambritis to be the duly elected Leader of the Council.

It was moved by Councillor Stephen Alambritis and seconded by Councillor James Holmes that, following their retirement from membership of the Council, the Council places on record its sincere appreciation of the valuable services rendered to the Borough by the former members listed in the appendix to these minutes and extends to them its grateful thanks for their activities on behalf of the Borough.

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 April 2014 are agreed as a correct record

That the Minutes of the special meeting of the Council held on 2 April 2014 are agreed as a correct record

Councillor Stephen Alambritis moved the report, which was seconded by Councillor Mark Allison.

The Mayor put the recommendations to the vote.

Following a requested it was recorded that the following Members did not vote on the resolution, Councillors Hamish Badenoch, John Bowcott, Michael Bull, Adam Bush, Charlie Chirico, Stephen Crowe, David Dean, Suzanne Grocott, Daniel Holden, James Holmes, Janice Howard, Abdul Latif, Najeeb Latif, Brian Lewis-Lavender,  Gilli Lewis-Lavender, Oonagh Moulton, David Simpson, Linda Taylor, Jill West and David Williams

RESOLVED

That Council

A)  approves the constitution of committees, sub-committees and scrutiny bodies, and agrees the allocation of seats, chair and vice-chair positions and appoints members to those seats;as set out in Appendix A the submitted report;

B)  approves the constitution of consultative forums and other bodies and appoints members to those seats; as set out in Appendix B the submitted report;

C). approves the allocation of seats and appoints to the outside organisations as set out in Appendix C the submitted report;

D). approves the terms of reference of consultative and other bodies for which the Council is responsible as set out in Appendix D the submitted report

E) notes the appointment made by the Leader of his the Deputy Leader and Cabinet and their respective portfolios, as set out in Appendix E the submitted report

F). notes that, in respect of the Mayor of Merton’s Charitable Trust, Councillor David Williams and former Councillor Krystal Miller have resigned with effect  5 June 2014 and also notes the appointment of the incoming Mayor Councillor Agatha Akyigyina and Deputy Mayor Councillor Laxmi Attawar, as trustees from 5 June 2014; and

G. agrees to delegate to the Planning Applications Committee the authority to appoint a non-voting co-opted member if this is deemed appropriate.