On 27th September, parish and town councils descended upon Exeter Racecourse for the Annual General meeting. The AGM is not just a formality. At its heart is our Annual Report which showcases a year of remarkable achievements by parish and town councils, and the wide range of support DALC provides to councils to create effective local governance and thriving communities.
At this year’s AGM, directors demonstrated commitment to providing a quality service to member councils, recognising our core purpose and priorities to be the provision of advice, information and training services, but also partnership working and member engagement for effective representation of the sector. All of which required a greater level of resource to ease pressures on DALC’s small staff team.
Directors presented proposals for subscription increases, to boost income to support of our members services. Feedback from participants reflected the value DALC brings to councils, and the need for it to be properly resourced. Participants gave widespread support for DALC to reconsider proposals with a view to generate further subscription income -the current proposal was too deemed too modest.
Widespread support was also expressed for improved member engagement, enabling councils of all sizes and experience to be able to contribute to DALC’s discussions on matters of importance to councils. It was acknowledged that the previous County Committee structure was an ineffective use of resources. DALC will utilise a range of tools in future, such as polls, surveys and open meetings, and look to provide more face-to-face networking opportunities, like our AGM & Conference.
Watch the recording
Our AGM this year included a member engagement session. We wanted to learn what was important to our members and how we can help. We asked 5 key questions:
We would like to give every member council an opportunity to join in and have their say, so please share your views with us. The survey is open to councillors and officers from any of our member councils; please do take a moment to share your thoughts!
DALC staff team and directors will review all submissions and use this information to help shape our emerging business plan. We will share our findings and future plans with all member councils.
All our members are invited to read our Annual Report 22.23, which contains all the news on what we’ve been up to the in last year and a selection of the fantastic projects our member councils have been working on.
Minutes from previous AGMs can be found on our governance page, along with details of our Board of Directors.
Keep an eye out for our new Connect Events, bringing councils together and connecting you with DALC, with other councils, and organisations whose work impacts our communities.
