Sunday, 27 September 2020
Parish Councillors
Structure of the Parish Council
The Clerk is the paid officer of the Parish Council and is appointed to deal with the day to day running of the Council, arrange and clerk meetings, maintain records, deal with correspondence, oversee the burial ground, maintain financial records of the Parish Council and a host of other duties to facilitate the business of the Parish Council.
The Chair and the Clerk draw up the agenda for the meetings,these are displayed on noticeboards in the village a minimum of three working days beforehand. The meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month (except August) from 7.30pm in the Village Hall. At each meeting there is a period during which residents and public may raise comment through the Chair, preferably having given prior notice to the Chair or Clerk.
The Parish Councillors have a shared responsibility to represent the views and concerns of their parishioners. Residents and other members of the public may contact any Councillor or the Parish Council Clerk to discuss their views and concerns regarding parish affairs, these may be raised during forthcoming Parish Council Meetings if necessary.
The Election of Parish Councillors
Election of Parish Councillors occurs every four years. Candidates must be over 18 years of age and on the electoral role of the village (maintained by South Northamptonshire Council on an annual basis). A candidate will also qualify if, during the whole of the twelve months prior to the election, he /she has resided in the locality or within three miles of it, or occupied as owner or tenant any land or premises thererin, or had his/her principal place of work there. Election forms are available from the Clerk or South Northamptonshire Council. Each candidate has to find his/her own sponsor and seconder. All information relating to elections is displayed on the village noticeboards. All Parish Councillors must agree to the Code of Conduct and notify the Council of their financial interests locally.
In the event of a Parish Councillor resigning, a casual vacancy will occur. Unless ten electors request an election to South Northamptonshire Council, this vacancy can be filled by co-option. Anyone interested in filling such posts will see notices advertising the vacancy.
Parish Accounts
The Parish Council is empowered to raise a precept from local parish electors as part of annual rates charges collected by South Northamptonshire Council.
During November and December the Parish Council work out their financial requirements for the following financial year (from April to March), taking into account any reserves it may hold. The Parish Council must budget for the Parish Clerk's salary and expenses, the cost of street lighting, maintenance of roadside verges, village greens, burial grounds, provision of newsletters, reports and other items provisioned by relevant national legislation. The Parish Council requests a sum of money to carry out these functions -the precept- from South Northamptonshire Council, who raises that sum in the Council Tax.
The formal accounts are maintained by the Clerk and routinely monitored by a designated Parish Councillor. Additionally and most importantly, the finances and overall operation of the Parish Council are scrutinsed annually by both a locally appointed auditor and an external auditor, the latter working directly under the authority of the national Audit Commission.
The accounts are available for inspection on application to the Clerk. The audited accounts are included in the annual report in April of the following year.
Individual Councillors
Use the Councillors Menu to view the web page for each curent councillor.
This include the Councillor's election address (when available) plus any special interests regarding their Parish Council work.
