Godt © Be % Fracds 1 Obremay Hage My name is Sue Sturgeon | am the Managing Director of Guildford Borough Council. { was appointed to this post in 2013, before this | was a Director at the Cauncl. | frst met Monika Juneja in May 2011 when she was elected as a councilor for the Burpham ‘ward. Monika quickly bull up a reputation as being very hard working and became fully involved in Council and toval issues, Intaly Monika was appointed to sit on one of the scrutiny committees, the Audit and Corporate Governance Commitee, the Planning Committee as well os the Licensing Committee (the later is @ quast-fucie! committee). in addition to these commitments all Councilors attend Council meetings, there are ground 8 to 10 of these meetings er year. All committee meetings taka place inthe evening with the exception of Licensing. From my perspective of running a Council, it doesn't matter whet background @ Councitor has, however f they have a relevant specialism then this can really add value. Monika was very inerested in pianning. In 2012 there was a change of leadership at the Counel and Monika was. appointed to sit on the Exacutive (whieh mirrors the cabinel system of government where each Individual hae a portfolio). My recollection is that the Leader appointed Councilors to sit on the Executive who were prepared and able fo put a high level of commitment into managing their portfolio. The Executive meets around 11 times each year, Councilors who sit on the Executive also have to attend the management team/executive meeting to discuss the emerging Issues. ‘These meetings take place during the workday and there is always one before each Executive meeting. | have set out below Monika's attendance at the meetings: Full Counett Bx bovsg~S 2041-12, 110 meetings (00%) Mee oe fon 2013-14, 14/14 meetings (100%) | x Vece fh 201416, 61 meotings (70%) ‘Aut and Corporate Governance Commitioe (x Bows 2012-13. Vice Chair until stepped down on 11 October 2012, 2/2 meetings (100%) Executive Appointed to Executive on 11 October 2012, stepped down August 2014 2012-13, 677 meetings (86%) i oo 2019-14, 11/12 meetings (92%) 2014.18, 4/4 meetings (100%) Licensing 2011-12, 6/5 meetings (100%) ‘Stepped sown in 11 October 2012 2012-13, 1/1 meeting (100%) Planning 2011-2012, 16/18 meetings (83%) 2012-2013, 14/16 meetings (88%) ‘ 2018-2014, 13/17 meotings (76%) 20*4-2018, 2/16 meetings (13%) Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee 2011-2012, 8/8 meetings (100%) 2012-2013, 313 meetings (100%) (stepped down from Committee October 2012) ‘Guildford Borough Council INVESTORS ‘Mitimead House, Milmead, Guicford, Surey GU2 486 IN PEOPLEExecutive Councilors also have regular 1 to 1 meetings with their respective senior officer to discuss emerging Issues, usually on @ monthly basis. Monika was fist appointed to take on the {evelopment and govemance pertolio, bu later was asked to take onthe planning portato, ‘Thee project areas are particularly worthy of mention. Monika was instrumental in driving forward {urther progress on the Siyfield Regeneration Scheme, which includes the replacement of ‘sewerage works, 1000 new homes and new recycling and depot facilites. As 8 Councillor she paid particular attention to hard to reach groups, particularly the gypsy and traveller community. The final araa | wish to comment on is the development of the new Local Pla GBC had been going through a process of working on a new local plan for @ number of years, ou last one was adopted in 2003. This is a very important document for a local authority because it ‘wil set cut the identified need and location for housing, employment, supporting infrastructure, ‘and environmental policies for the Borough up to 2031, ‘The evidence base supporting the development of the draft Local Plan consists of over 20 documents. Many of these are very technical, for example, Guildford's Green Belt and Countryside Study, which consists of six volumes with many maps and cross-referencing. Monika ‘was algo very involved in the Strategic Housing Market Assessment and Employment Land ‘Assessment, which consider future need for additional housing and employment. She instigated corporate working groups which included Surrey County Couneit, to ensure that infrastructure planning was a prioty Monika read the evidence documents and took great interest in ensuring that they were ‘accessible fo the general public. She ensured that the documents avoided technical jargon Wherever possible; keeping them as simple as possible so that they reached the maximum ‘audience, She also asked for 2 non-technical briefing note with frequently aeked questions to eccompany the publication of each evidence document, to help people to understand ther, ‘She read and commented on numerous drafts of each policy ofthe draft Local Pian 2014, she attended consuttation events on the draft Local Pian across the borough, speaking informally to residents and employers to understand the Issues that concerned them, as well as meeting every parish counell of which there are 23. ‘The Counel also opened a drop In centre in the town centre, which Monika championed. Monika ‘gave interviews and press releases through the consultation, inchiding on local radio, keeping the Public Informed on how they could give their views. She was particularly kaen for the Counc to hear the views of groups that do nat usually get involved in the planning process, so she instigeted coffee drop in sessions. This included schoo! and collage students, travellers, and ‘ekieriy peopte. Monika's hard work end tenacity made a significant contribution such that the ‘council was able to consult on the draft Local Pian last summer. During 2014 she was often in he ‘office 2 days per week, in addition to her evening committee meetings. During the time | worked with Monika, | found her to be a very hardworking, commited and a capable Councilor who was prepared to put in a significant amount of time and effort to bo on top ‘of ner area of responsibilty. This \s clearly demonstrated by the work she did as set out above. Her sense of purpose in the faoe of adversity was second to none. She was also prepared to be ‘challenging both within and outside the counel in her desire to make a difference for what she believed. Her commitment to public service cannot be doubted. ‘Managing Director