Question

How long before a Budget meeting should the Clerk/RFO publish the relevant documents to inform councillors and public?

Answer 1

In time for the council to make an informed decision based on the clerk's DRAFT budget.
That process is for the COUNCIL to decide and in many respects depends on the size and functions it performs.

Comments

Our council received them with the agenda and other supporting docs a mere 3 working days prior to the meeting at which the Budget and Precept were to be decided. I feel this is inadequate and doesn't allow for public consultation let alone allow councillors to be fully informed. There was no question of a DRAFT budget meeting - just squeezed it into a packed full monthly meeting which then ran over time (again).

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The minimum requirement is only 3 clear days, however I agree that this isn't ideal. The council should be working with the Clerk to prepare the budget long before it goes to a meeting. There are elements that are rightly the Clerk's responsibility, but the individual councillors need an opportunity to throw ideas into the melting pot and, in an ideal world, the council would also have a three or five-year plan to fall back on. I have the budget on the agenda from the November meetings onwards.

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Might I suggest that you don't get too upset about what is now history.  I think it would be far more fruitful to say to the council (and the clerk) "what is done is done, but from next year onwards we need a far better and inclusive way of agreeing the budget".