Consultation process
Review of Scheme for Establishment of Community CouncilsCo-option Process
Currently anyone who joins the Community Council through the co-option process must apply at the next by-election for full membership, therefore having to apply twice.
Would you support between the full election cycle that any vacancies within the community council would be filled by the co-opting process. Then after six months from the date of their co-option to the Community Council, the co-opted member will become a full member if agreed by the Community Council and will no longer be counted within the ratio of co-opted members. (see Scheme page 13 and Guidance page12)
In my opinion, it should be whatever comes first. If you are a co-opted member you should become a full member at the next AGM or 6 months from co-option (pending approval from the CC obviously). Although there might be a condition within that 6 month period that they have to attend a certain amount of meetings or some other engagement metric as I know all organisations have a problem with people joining and being active for the first few months but about 3 months in the notion wears off and they dip in and out.
I would rather see the co-option done away with as I said in my comment on the previous question. If this is such a good idea i.e. to do away with the person having to be "elected twice" by having to go through the next by-election, then why was it done in the first place? I really would like to hear the answer to this question. It would be very interesting to know.
The only functional difference is the removal of limitation on successive co-option and the ability to be elected chair or treasurer after 6 months. This is another example where the model scheme is superior. On co-option it says:
"Should a vacancy or vacancies arise on a community council between elections, it shall be a requirement that the community council undertake appropriate election arrangements, in consultation with the local authority. Filling a vacancy can be undertaken either through the process of an interim election or by co-option. ... Co-opted members must be eligible for membership of the community council as detailed in Section 5 of the Community Council Scheme. They must be elected onto the community council by a two-thirds majority of the elected (general and interim) community councillors present and voting. Such co-opted members shall have full voting rights, with the exception of voting on co-option of members, and will serve until the next round of elections
Works well as is
If by-elections are removed then this would be necessary?
When they are co-opted they automatically become a full member
yes, but only until the next yearly by-election currently.