Councillor acting as temporary Clerk/RFO able to vote

Question

Our Clerk has resigned, giving a months notice. We live is a rural area with a small population so know it might take some time to fill the vacancy. We will elect a Councillor to be Clerk/RFO/Proper Officer if necessary. (We know this is unpaid). Can that Councillor still take part in discussions and vote?

Answer 1

You could ask a local Clerk if they would stand in whilst you recruit, even just to prepare an agenda and take minutes of meetings.

 If you're a member of your local Calc then ask them for support. This could be an opportunity to look at the Clerks role eg number of hours and pay to encourage more applicants.

Yes a Cllr can still take part in discussion, debate and vote whilst covering for the Clerk. It is not an ideal situation.

Comments

You should get a Locum Clerk in the meantime. It may not matter if there is nothing controversial and everything is open and above board but not ideal as previous comment says.

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We are already looking into a locum. We are in Wales, so our equivalent of NALC is One Voice Wales. We have already spoken to them but unfortunately they don't have any knowledge of locums in our area. The clerk is speaking to some of her contacts to see if they can help, so we are doing everything we can. Our HR Committee is already discussing hours, pay etc, There is a shortage of employment in our area apart from seasonal hospitality which may be in our favour as we are offering long term employment.
We are one of the larger towns in our area so have a fair sized council. I am concerned that taking on the role of Clerk and RFO may be too much for just one Councillor even if it is only temporary.

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You're right to be concerned and it is disappointing that One Voice can't offer more support. On a positive your outgoing Clerk is working with you.
You haven't said if there are other staff members. Perhaps this is an opportunity by your HR Committee to look to employ a Clerks assistant as a future preventive measure should the situation arise again. As for now it's about prioritising the tasks ahead. Anything else will have to wait. Good luck.