Issue - meetings

To invite a vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(c).

NOTED

(1)        the vote of thanks to the co-opted and independent members serving on the Council’s committees.

(2)        the vote of thanks and tributes paid to the outgoing Mayor.

The Mayor then invited Councillor McLennan, as Deputy Leader, to propose a vote of thanks to all co-opted and other members serving on the Council’s committees.

Councillor McLennan began by thanking the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Ezeajughi, for the example he had set in undertaking his civic duties and in fundraising for his chosen charities under such difficult and challenging circumstances.

As this was the Annual Meeting of the Council, she also advised it was an ideal opportunity to again highlight the valued work of the Council’s co-opted and independent committee members, given the core role they played as critical friends in the Council’s democratic process.  She advised that their independence and objectivity were highly valued and integral to the role of the bodies on which they served including Scrutiny, Audit & Standards and the various health and education bodies.  She ended by thanking all of the co-opted Members for their work in supporting the Council’s drive towards continuous improvement.

The Mayor then invited Councillor M Butt (Leader of the Council) to propose a vote of thanks for the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Ezeajughi. In doing so, he praised Councillor Ezeajughi’s commitment to working with young people in the borough alongside the likes of the Jason Roberts Foundation, Brent Youth Foundation and Brent Youth Parliament. He remembered the interactions he had seen between Councillor Ezeajughi and new residents at Citizenship Ceremonies, in which he had shown such genuine excitement at seeing people become residents of the borough. He then highlighted the work Councillor Ezeajughi had undertaken with local community groups and organisations, particularly during the pandemic, which he recognised had been hugely valued by residents.  Councillor M Butt ended by once again thanking Councillor Ezeajughi for being such a strong representative of the borough during his Mayoralty.

Councillor Kansagra, as Leader of the Conservative Group, advised that he would like to second the vote of thanks moved by the Deputy Leader to all co-opted and other members on the Council’s committees. He also took the opportunity to congratulate the newly appointed Mayor and Deputy Mayor on their appointment before ending by thanking the outgoing Mayor for the way he had conducted himself and undertaken his civic role during such challenging times throughout the pandemic as well as for the way he had chaired the Council meetings both in person and online.

The Mayor then invited comments from other members in recognition of the role undertaken by the outgoing Mayor.

Councillor Dixon opened the tributes by thanking Councillor Ezeajughi for his hard work over the previous two years as well as his friendly nature and warm smile. She also took the opportunity to congratulate Councillor Colacicco as incoming Mayor and was confident that she would also excel in her new role.

Councillor McLennan once again thanked the outgoing Mayor for his hard work during the past two years, especially in response to the pandemic. Despite having done so well as Mayor, she was happy that he would now be able to turn his attention  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5

To invite a vote of thanks, in accordance with Standing Order 27(c).

NOTED the vote of thanks to the co-opted and independent members serving on the Council’s committees.

The Mayor then invited Councillor McLennan to propose a vote of thanks to all co-opted and other Members serving on the Council’s Committees.

Councillor McLennan began by thanking Councillor Ezeajughi for the example he had set in undertaking his civic duties during such a challenging time as Mayor, and wished him well in continuing these along with his fundraising activities during the remainder of the year.  As this was the Annual Meeting of the Council, she also advised it was an ideal opportunity to again highlight the valued work of the Council’s co-opted and independent committee members, given the core role they played as critical friends in the Council’s democratic process.  She advised that their independence and objectivity were highly valued and integral to the role of the bodies on which they served including Scrutiny, Audit & Standards and the various health and education bodies and concluded by thanking all of the co-opted Members for their work in supporting the Council’s drive towards continuous improvement.

Councillor Kansagra advised that he would like to second the vote of thanks moved by the Deputy Leader and in so doing also took the opportunity to congratulate the Mayor and Deputy Mayor for their re-appointment (making them the longest serving Mayor and Deputy Mayor).  He thanked them for the way they had not only conducted themselves during such challenging times but had also chaired the Council meetings.

The Mayor once again thanked all Members and advised that as the ceremonial part of the meeting had now concluded he would move on to deal with the remainder of the agenda.