Meetings
Town Council meetings and Committee meetings are usually held on Monday evenings in the Council Chamber at 10 Cambridge Road, Sandy SG19 1JE. Meeting dates are published in the annual calendar of meetings.
The agenda for the meetings and the business to be decided will be advertised before the meeting on this website and on local noticeboards at least 3 clear working days before the day of the meeting.
Council meetings are formal events and their primary purpose is to make decisions. Behaviour at meetings is determined by a set of rules known as Standing Orders designed to ensure that meetings are lawful, effective and timely. The chairman of the council or committee manages the meeting.
All members of the public are welcome to attend all council and committee meetings and may ask general questions of the Council or make representations on specific items of business to be discussed. Members of the public who wish to speak must give advance notice before the meeting commences by advising the Clerk to the meeting in writing (if it is not possible to give notice beforehand a form may be completed 10-15 minutes before each meeting and handed in to the Clerk before the meeting starts).
The council may not answer questions at the meeting at which they are asked but will respond in writing within 7 working days. Members of the public may speak for a maximum of 3 minutes and will not be permitted to engage in a dialogue with the Council. This is to promote the smooth running of business and to ensure that decisions are made lawfully and in accordance with standing orders. It is not intended to stifle public debate, there are many other opportunities for members of the public to engage with the council to express views and ask questions and these can be found in the communications section of the website.
The government has produced a guide to open and accountable local government which explains your rights to attend town council meetings, to record them and how to access records of decisions taken by councils.
Councillor Attendance at Meetings
See here for a table of Councillor attendance at meetings.
Confidential Business
Sandy Town Council aims to be transparent and open in all its business and activities. However, sometimes there are specific items of business to be decided at council meetings which cannot be discussed in public. These are usually items which include personal information about employees or items which include information which is commercially sensitive. In such a case members of the press and public may be asked to leave the meeting for the duration of that item of business only.
Annual Meetings
The annual meeting of the Town Council takes place in May and it is at this meeting that the Mayor is elected, members are elected to standing committees and standing orders and financial regulations are confirmed. After the items of business which must be performed at this meeting the meeting will continue as a regular Town Council meeting.
The annual town meeting is not a meeting of the Town Council. It is a meeting of the community at which community issues may be discussed. The Town Council must bear the cost of the annual town meeting and the Mayor must take the chair if they are present. Each annual town meeting is advertised on this website.