EAST KENT ALMO LOOKS FOR BOARD MEMBERS

A ground breaking project in East Kent, bringing together four councils for the first time to manage their council housing, is now looking for people to help take the initiative forward.

The East Kent ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisation) is being formed by Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet councils to run and manage their 18,000 council homes. The aim is to improve services and to increase opportunities for tenants and leaseholders to get involved with how the service is run. It’s estimated that the ALMO could save £1.5 million and possibly more over the next few years, with the money re-invested into housing services.

The ALMO will be managed by its own board which is independent of the four councils. The ALMO is looking to recruit a Chair and other independent members of the board. The board will play a vital role, working with staff to set up the new organisation, which has already attracted national attention, as it is the first time that four councils have joined together in this way.

Board members will be expected to use their knowledge or experience to help manage the ALMO, which may include areas such as:
Financial management and accountancy
Business management
Legal, especially housing, commercial, property or employment law
Housing management
Knowledge and understanding of the needs of tenants and leaseholders
Property maintenance

None of the board members will be paid, but they will be able to claim reasonable expenses. They will be expected to attend board meetings and sub-committee meetings. In the early days of the ALMO, the board meetings are likely to be at least once a month, but it is expected that this will reduce to six board meetings a year over time.

A parallel recruitment exercise is underway to recruit tenants to sit on the board of the ALMO. The four councils have already nominated four people to represent them on the Board.

An information pack and application form is available on the website www.eastkenthomes.org.uk The closing date for applications is Friday 5 November 2010.