What is an Annual Town Meeting?
All Town Councils throughout England are required, by law, to hold an Annual Parish Meeting, which must take place between 1 March and 1 June every year.
There is often confusion between the Annual Town Meeting and the Annual General Meeting of the Town Council. Annual meetings cannot start before 6:00pm. Anyone may attend but only registered electors of Sandown may speak and vote during the meeting.
A town meeting can be convened by either:
(a) the chair of the Town Council, or
(b) any two town councillors for the parish, or
(c) a councillor representing the parish on the district council, or
(d) any six local government electors for the parish.
Purpose of the Annual Town Meeting.
The purpose of the meeting is so that the Town Council can explain what they have been doing over the last year. It also enables the electors to have their say on anything they consider is important to the people of the Town. Other local organisations can also be invited to representative to speak about the work of their organisation. All Councillors representing the Town will be invited to attend. Councillors will have the opportunity to raise questions and make comments if they wish. However, the purpose of the meeting is to enable the ordinary electors to find out what is going on in their Town and to have their say.