How do I call an Extraordinary meeting please?

Question

Please would you help me in this. I just need to move an issue for potential outside grants forward so as not to miss out on funding.

Answer 1

It of course depends if you are the chair or a councillor. The chair can call an EO meeting at any time and if councillors feel there is a need then the chair can call one on request. if they refuse the request then the legislation states: " If the Chair refuses to call an extra ordinary meeting of the council after a requisition for that purpose. signed by two members of the council, has been presented to him, or if, without so refusing, the chair does not call an extra ordinary meeting within seven days after which such a requisition has been presented to him, any two members of the council, on that refusal or on the expiration of those seven days, as the case may be, may forthwith convene an extra ordinary meeting of the council"

Don't for get that the number of days notice that apply to normal PC meetings apply to EO meetings

Comments

Thank you for your reply Mentorman. I have asked the clerk to kindly set up an extraordinary meeting and I am the Chairman of the committee, but he is not acting upon my request 7 days later|. Do I then set up a zoom meeting, my agenda etc myself? If the Clerk is not present at the meeting is it still a correctly convened and official meeting?

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Pheonix there seems to be a bit of confusion on my part. You say you are a chair of a committee. EO meetings are called by the chair of the council not a committee chair as you have no more power than any other council member. The clerk does not have the power to call an EO meeting ( I'm sure our clerks will correct me) . So application by two councillors must be made to the chair and if refused or ignored the  EO can be organised by councillors ( with clerks involvement). As to the clerk not being available for a meeting there is nothing preventing the council from appointing a note taker for recording the minutes or even recording it which will then be ratified at the next full council meeting. Providing that agendas and notice of meeting are published in the correct time frame then the meeting is lawful. If you are prevented (or obstructed) from using the normal zoom channel for the meeting I don't think that there is anything that prevents you setting up a zoom meeting for the EO as long as all involved are informed of the link to attend.

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Under Standing Orders 6c]  it says this in our orders - The chairman of a committee [or a sub-committee] may convene an extraordinary meeting of the committee [or the sub-committee] at any time.
 I would like to call an extra meeting of a committee to discuss one item so as to be prepared to start a process for applying for a grant.

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Pheonix you didn't make clear that it was a committee that you wanted to have a meeting of and as your standing orders show that it doesn't have to be an extra ordinary meeting. The reason that an EO is called is because it is not a scheduled  meeting as council meetings would be scheduled for the whole year at the beginning of the year and any extra would be classed as EO. I would have thought that a committee would have been granted the power to meet whenever they needed to carry out the business they have been delegated by council. Of course they would need to inform the clerk so that the required notices are posted so an EO would not be needed by a committee. Check your committees terms of reference.

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Hi Phoenix
Is basic terms just in case you’re now confused...

Your SO’s give you the power to call a meeting. You simply need to give 3 clear working days for your agenda and then hold it.

If the Clerk isn’t available anyone can notetake.

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bit confused about some of the terms being used here - does EO also mean extraordinary or extra ordinary meeting, and it's the same thing?

I am asking for clarification as we have just had a meeting being called one week after our full council meeting to go over items that were not covered during our full council. However it's not been called an extraordinary meeting. Is this something that we can do?

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Ordinary meetings of the council are those set at the beginning of the year by council and follow whatever regularity the council chooses. Any meeting of the council outside of these or called by the Chair are classed as Extra Ordinary or EO meetings and can be called for such things as you have stated. Not can do but should do to differentiate between a scheduled meeting and an EO meeting.

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Thank you. Apologies for not framing my question in a tighter, clearer form, but I'm very new to this. The good thing about zoom meetings is that they can be recorded.