Parish Council Business
When this article is published in June, the parish council will have just had its annual meeting on 28th May. The annual meeting is an important administrative meeting in our calendar. Its aim is to set the PC up for the new municipal year. The agenda is packed with administrative functions, which to the outsider may seem quite uninteresting and boring, but for the PC, they are critical to how we operate.
The first item on the agenda is always the election of a new chair for the year. We use the term chair, whilst other councils use chairman or chairperson. If we were a town council, we would have a mayor. There is no difference between a parish council and a town council, except that town councils are generally bigger.
The chair is chosen following nominations from councillors and a vote. A majority vote is required. Once chosen, the new chair will declare and sign an acceptance of office and then take office. They will be in the post for a year. The next item is to select a vice-chair for the year. This is also done by voting.
At this meeting, we will be co-opting a new councillor. When a councillor resigns, it automatically generates a vacant position. We must advertise this position for a period of time to see if a bye-election is to be called. In this case, there is no bye-election, and so we co-opt. Applicants for the position are invited to this meeting. Members then vote to decide which person they wish to elect. The pc will be co-opting again in June as another vacancy has arisen.
The next item on the agenda deals with council appointments on committees, subcommittees, and working groups. The planning committee has nine members, and these are confirmed. The chair of planning for the new municipal year is decided at the next planning meeting.
We have a clerks committee which deals with staffing issues, we also have a reserves committee which deals with the council’s funds, and we have authorised financial signatories. All these appointments need to be confirmed. We have several appointments that are filled by just one or two councillors. They are Scrutiny of accounts, GDPR, environmental matters, litter warden, flood warden, tree warden, and a rights of way person.
The next item deals with the governance of documents and policies. The pc uses documents called Model Standing Orders and Model Financial Regulations as its main forms of governance. These are produced by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) of which we are a member. Annual amendments to these documents are put to the council for adoption. In addition to these, the updated Asset Register and Risk Management Register are adopted.
The pc has many policies covering a wide area of subjects. These are, in general, specific to this pc but all follow best practice and current legislation. Any amendments are approved by the council. All these documents are available on the council website.
The pc will also agree to the list of dates for full council and planning meetings for the next municipal year. These dates will appear on the website. Full council is generally on the last Wednesday of each month (except December), and planning meetings are every 3 weeks.
The next item is confirmation that all assets have had their annual inspection, and any works that are required are explained and detailed. Members are requested to approve any recommended remedial work.
The clerk then confirms the financial payments and bank reconciliation of accounts, together with any significant grant payments to be made.
The council is audited internally three times a year and externally audited annually. Internall,y it is conducted by a company nominated by the council but which is fully accredited and qualified. Externally it is audited by a company that is nominated by the government.
The internal audit report is presented to the council for approval, and comments are noted and actioned where necessary.
The PC must complete an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) and present it to the external auditor for comment. This is a critical document that proves the council is operating correctly and within the financial rules. Members receive the findings of the external audit and must resolve to accept the results of the AGAR. The AGAR findings are made available for viewing by the public.
The next item is the approval of the annual insurance renewal.
The final few items are standard recurring items, where reports from working parties are given.
Agenda and minutes from all meetings appear on the website – www.stleonardsparishcouncil.gov.uk. Agendas will also be displayed on our noticeboards. Noticeboards are located by: the One Stop, Cornerways Medical Centre, Village Hall, Parish Office, Hurn Road, Victory Oak play park, and by the Pavilion at Oak Tree Park.
