Story by the New Deal executive team
It may seem like only yesterday when the last BNDfC elections took place but, now two years on, it’s that time again. However, before the campaign trail hots up too much, a number of changes are being proposed to the election process and BNDfC want to hear your views and opinions.
Burngreave New Deal for Communities has a Partnership Board responsible for agreeing the priorities for the area through consultation with local people and awarding funding to initiatives that tackle these priorities, making Burngreave a better place for people to live, work and play.
The Partnership Board has 25 places of which ten are for residents who are elected by local people as community representatives. The others comprise:
Five representatives from local voluntary/community organisations
Six representatives from the statutory sector
Three representatives from the Business Community
One local councillor representing the Area Panel
Since the last board elections, NDC has become a Registered Company and Board members now have legal and financial responsibilities as Company Directors. Also, the NDC programme has expanded – theme strategy groups have been established and community representatives have taken on responsibilities as theme champions.
In order to ensure continuity and stability on the Board, a review has been commissioned as the current arrangements mean the valuable experience gained by community representatives could be lost to the Board if all ten places were up for election at the same time.
Proposals
So that we can build on existing skills and experience but still offer opportunities for other people to be involved, the following changes are being proposed:
To hold the elections in the summer so there is a better chance of decent weather to hold election road shows in various locations within the area. Burngreave radio will also hit the airwaves to keep everybody informed of who is standing and when and where you can vote etc.
The 2005 elections would see five community representative board members extend their service by two years so they are up for reelection in 2007.
The other five members will be up for re-election this year, meaning there are five places up for election in 2005. Those elected will then be in service for four years so up for re-election in 2009.
The election process will continue to take place every two years but retain 50% of the community representative members for continuity. Members will all serve for four years.
No decision has yet been made as to which five of the current board members would be up for re-election in 2005 – options include voluntary redundancy, longest serving members or those with the lowest vote in the last election stepping down. These details will be finalised and the recommendations presented to the BNDfC board once your views as residents have been taken into consideration using the comments leaflet in this issue.
Board suggestions
Current board members have given some suggestions and comments about how we can continue to encourage residents to get involved and stay involved with BNDfC based on their experience over the last two years. The idea of using payment to attract board members, as used by some other NDCs around the country, was examined. However, our current board members were opposed to this as they were worried that it could attract involvement for personal gain, rather than for genuine benefit to the area. It is important to attract members to our board who have a passion for improving Burngreave and participate in the themes in which they have a specific interest so that they can drive the BNDfC programme forward.
However, we recognise the time and effort our board members invest in BNDfC and we ensure they are not out of pocket by reimbursing all expenses. We also recognise the opportunities for our board members to gain skills and knowledge and, following the feedback from our existing board members, we are also going to offer more support through formalised and individual learning and development programmes.
Get involved
So we can take your opinions and suggestions on board, please fill out the comments leaflet and drop it in at the BNDfC Information Shop at 131 Spital Hill.