This page is intended to answer a wide range of queries that the BALC office has received over the recent past.
We will update this information on occasions to reflect the enquiries and issues that our membership faces.
Last Updated:
January 26, 2007
One of the councillors was verbally abusive to our
clerk at meetings. What should we do? 
Are our meetings too long?
Should even our finance committees
be open to the public?
Our clerk’s on holiday
for the next meeting. Can we still have the meeting and who can take the
minutes?
Can ex-officio members vote at committee meetings?
Section 137 money … where
does it come from?
Some councillors want a vote of no confidence in the chairman.
Is this a good idea?
We’ve just had
a letter from the external auditor, querying our accounts. Who is responsible?
Must our council pay the clerk a lump sum when he retires?
And how much could it be?
Should all payments, even expenses and salaries, be published
in the minutes?
Take a look at older FAQ Archive 1....
One of the councillors was verbally abusive to our clerk at meetings. What should we do?
Act quickly! This is a primary cause of the high turnover of clerks. Some councillors do not realise that their ‘robust’ language is upsetting
and could be construed as bullying.
Act carefully and try to be sensitive! A quiet word from the chairman to the offender to explain this should be one of the first steps and secondly the chairman should ensure the meetings are properly controlled. If this does not do the trick then councillors have a duty to report such behaviour to the Standards Board.
Are our meetings too long?
If your meetings are longer than two hours, then usually the answer is probably yes. Why not think about having a time limit for each item, or delegating some of the business to sub-committees or working parties. Keep to the agenda and try not to go off the point. Perhaps because PC meetings are held in the evenings, with no charge for the premises, they tend not to have a fixed finish time. You might even encourage more people to join the council if the meetings are efficient and effective.
Should our committee meetings - even our finance committees - be open to the public?
Yes, certainly – after all, residents should be able to see how their money is spent. The Freedom of Information Act makes it clear that no full council or committee (or sub committee) meetings should be in secret.
Our clerk’s on holiday for the next meeting. Can we still have the meeting and who can take the minutes?
No problem; you can hold the meeting as normal and anyone can take the minutes, but REMEMBER, if it’s a councillor, they cannot be paid.
Can ex-officio members vote at committee meetings?
Yes, ex-officio members like the chairman or vice-chairman of the full council can take part in and vote at committee meetings they attend, UNLESS your standing orders specifically preclude this. If they can vote it logically follows that they can be counted as part of the quorum.
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Section 137 money … where does it come from?
Monies spent under this heading come out of the precept, like the rest of the payments. This special power of expenditure can be used if no other power is relevant; however the rules are quite strict; it can only be spent for the benefit of some or all members of your community (and must be commensurate) … so, no individuals, no projects outside your parish, and be sensible; although it can amount to £5.14 per elector there’s no need to spend up to that limit each year. In fact, most councils don’t use this power at all.
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Some councillors want a vote of no confidence in the chairman. Is this a good idea?
No. Firstly there is no point; the chairman can remain in the chair until the next annual meeting whatever the result of the vote, and squabbling councillors diminish the reputation of the council in the eyes of the public. Wait until the following May and then elect someone else.
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We’ve just had a letter from the external auditor, querying our accounts. Who is responsible?
The council. Although the responsible financial officer (usually the clerk) prepares the annual return, the council is ultimately responsible if things go wrong, like maladministration, incompetence or fraud. It is important that the whole council takes an interest in the finances and asks to see all correspondence from the auditors.
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Must our council pay the clerk a lump sum when he retires? And how much could it be?
It’s entirely up to the council whether or not to pay a gratuity to a clerk of retirement age without a local authority pension. But remember there is a strict ceiling on the amount that can be paid (BALC can help you calculate this). A clerk with 12 years’ service for example, could be entitled to about £2,000.
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Should all payments, even expenses and salaries, be published in the minutes?
Yes, after all, the residents have a right to know how their money is spent.
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