Councillor Barry Pierpoint was elected as the 490th Mayor of Boston, and Councillor Patricia Marson was elected as Deputy Mayor. Councillors also voted to consolidate the council's two scrutiny committees into one and approved the establishment of committees, subcommittees and panels for the 2025/26 municipal year. Additionally, the council approved drawing forward £2.010 million from the capital programme to fund food waste collection vehicles.

Here's a more detailed look at the key discussion points:

Election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor

Councillor Ann Dorrian, Leader of the Council, proposed Councillor Barry Pierpoint as the next Mayor of Boston, which was seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton, Deputy Leader. Councillor Pierpoint was unanimously elected.

Councillor Pierpoint then proposed Councillor Patricia Marson as Deputy Mayor, seconded by Councillor Broughton, and she was duly elected.

Scrutiny Arrangements

Councillors voted to consolidate the existing two Overview and Scrutiny Committees into a single, standalone Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Paul Gleeson introduced the proposal, arguing that the current arrangements were outdated, led to duplication of effort, and didn't allow members to develop their own policies effectively. He also raised concerns about the impact of local government reorganisation (LGR) and the need to ensure that the Putative Town Council for Boston and the parishes have as much power delegated to them as possible.

unless we bolster our town and parish, we won't have any say in the new structures. And so I thought maybe we needed to look at how we allocate work between the committees.

Councillor Rylott expressed disappointment with the way the paper had been delivered, stating that the proposals had only been presented to the Corporate and Community Committee and not the Environment and Performance Committee, which she chairs. She also challenged the claim that there was significant duplication of reports and questioned the suggestion that task and finish groups should adopt a more proactive approach.

Councillor Jonathan Noble raised concerns that a single committee of 15 members would be too unwieldy and that there would be less deep focus on specific issues.

Despite these objections, the motion to establish a single Overview and Scrutiny Committee was carried.

Democratic Arrangements for 2025/26

The council approved the establishment of committees, subcommittees, panels, and working groups for the 2025/26 municipal year. They also appointed chairmen and vice-chairmen of committees, and made appointments to outside bodies.

John Medler, Assistant Director – Governance & Monitoring Officer, presented the report, noting that as the recommendations of the previous report were just approved by council, members were being asked to approve appendices 1a, 2a and 3a within their supplementary pack. He also advised that Councillor Richard Austin BEM had withdrawn his application for the Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board, and as a result the number of nominees for this body now matched the number of seats available.

A vote was required to confirm the appointment of a vice chairman for the Audit and Governance Committee, as there were nominations for both Councillor Anton Dani and Councillor Mike Gilbert. Councillor Gilbert was appointed.

Use of Special Urgency Provisions

The council noted a report detailing three executive decisions that had been made under special urgency provisions, as required by the council's constitution. These decisions related to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the release of Boston Town Fund for Healing the High Street, and the Rural England Prosperity Fund allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2025-26.

Quarter Three Finance Update

The council amended the capital programme, as detailed in Appendix A - Q3 Finance Report 2024-25, to take into account changes set out in the report.

Councillor Sandeep Ghosh, Portfolio Holder for Financial Management & IT, introduced the report, highlighting key financial points including an efficiency target of £846,000, reduced planning fee income, increased car parking income, and overachieving net investment income.

Councillor Stephen Woodliffe raised concerns about vehicle replacements being slipped into future years, emphasising the need to ensure officers always have safe equipment. Councillor Jonathan Noble noted pleasing aspects of the report, such as healthy reserves and good returns on short-term cash investments, but also pointed out that property fund returns were forecast to be less than anticipated.

Waste Services Delivery Model

The council approved drawing forward £2.010 million from the capital programme to fund the purchase of food waste collection vehicles.

Councillor Callum Butler, Portfolio Holder - Environmental Services, introduced a report regarding the implementation of weekly food waste collections, which are required by the Environment Act 2021¹. He outlined two options for collecting food waste and recommended the preferred option of purchasing pod vehicles capable of collecting food waste and general waste simultaneously.

Councillor Noble raised several questions, including whether the existing freighter fleet would be sold off, the cost of each new vehicle, and whether the options had been presented to the Corporate and Community Committee for scrutiny.

South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Performance Report

The council noted the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (SELCP) performance report.

Councillor Dorrian introduced the report, highlighting progress on the alignment and delivery plan, external funding, financial efficiencies, and updates from priority boards.

Councillor Noble raised concerns about customer contact, citing long telephone waiting times, and questioned the percentage of the partnership workforce who felt informed about the partnership and its decisions.

Animal Welfare Licensing Policy

The council adopted the proposed Animal Welfare Licensing Policy.

Councillor Broughton introduced the report, explaining that the policy aimed to provide advice to businesses, operators, and the public on the council's position regarding the licensing, administration, and enforcement of premises where licensable animal activities are carried on.

Councillor Noble questioned why the written content of the policy had not been presented to councillors, arguing that they were being asked to approve it without having seen it.