DALC held its Annual General Meeting on October 2, 2024. The event marked a significant gathering of representatives from local councils across Devon, where key achievements and plans were presented.

Key highlights:

• Welcome and attendance: Chair Elizabeth Brookes-Hocking welcomed attendees, with live streaming facilitated by Cloudy IT. Councils from across the County were well represented, while apologies were received from a few councils, and forms of proxy received from others.
• Approval of previous minutes: The minutes from the previous AGM (held on September 27, 2023) were unanimously approved.
• Annual Report and achievements: The Chair presented the 2023/24 Annual Report, highlighting DALC’s continued service to local councils, including responding to 1,976 inquiries from 297 councils. Efforts to enhance understanding of member needs, foster collaboration with principal councils, and represent local councils effectively were emphasized. Notably, 85% of member councils had used DALC’s advice services during the year​.
• Financial performance: DALC’s financial performance showed an improved surplus of £5,302, thanks to increased income from subscriptions and training following local elections. Some of DALC’s core expenses, such as staffing and office costs, remain relatively fixed. Surpluses were primarily generated from training and the annual conference​.
• Strategic goals and vision: Looking ahead, DALC outlined several priorities, including maintaining core services, improving outreach to smaller councils, and developing partnerships with other local authorities. A call for more involvement and feedback from member councils was also encouraged, ensuring DALC can meet their evolving needs​.
• Appointments and elections: Lance Kennedy of Tiverton Town Council was appointed as a non-executive director for a three-year term. Three existing board-appointed directors—Phillip Dredge, Mike Joyce, and Ruth Pearson-Bunt—were redesignated as member-appointed directors for the remainder of their terms​.
• Next steps: The next AGM will take place on October 1, 2025, subject to venue confirmation.  There was also a call to action for more individuals to stand as directors.

Share your ideas and feedback to help shape DALC’s priorities:

The AGM concluded with a call for greater collaboration and participation from councils, encouraging members to share their ideas and feedback to shape DALC’s future priorities. The Board of Directors asked four questions, aiming to gather your views on DALC’s services, how we can better engage with smaller councils, and what you think their priorities should be:

1. Are we missing something important to your council?
2. Is there anything in DALC’s services you would like us to change?
3. If there was a smaller councils forum, would you attend?
4. If you were a director of DALC, what would your priorities be?

We would like hear the thoughts of all the membership, not just those present at the AGM, so please do take a moment to share your ideas and feedback here.

Additional information:

• Watch the recording of the AGM
• View the minutes of the meeting
• Read DALC’s Annual Report 2023/24