THE procedure to nominate the next Mayor of Monmouth Town Council is to change.

Instead of councillors making the decision on who is to become mayor of the council at the same time at the Annual General Meeting, the decision will be taken a week earlier.

At Monday's meeting of the town council, members decided that in future, written nominations for the position of Mayor and the deputy should be given to the Town Clerk 10 working days prior to the AGM.

A meeting will then be called prior to the AGM, so that fellow councillors can discuss the nominations, and it gives the candidates an opportunity to present themselves and take questions about what their priorities would be if given the chance to represent the Council in this position. Councillor Bond said: "We've had a few instances in the past where we nearly had egg on our face, and this proposal should eliminate this prospect.

It was agreed by members that this would now form part of the council's standing orders.

Members also discussed the possibility that this procedure would still not preclude anybody standing as Mayor/Deputy Mayor on the night of the AGM, but due to the Council's desire to make the Mayor making ceremony a more dignified event, it is hoped that members would respect the new decision.