Clerk making decisions

Question

The clerk keeps making decisions because they say that they have the authority to spend money up to £1000. They believe that they can just make decisions as long as the resulting actions do not cost more than £1000. Obvs some councillors think that this is correct and do not want to be involved in such petty decision making. What do other councils do? And what’s the point of being a councillor if the staff can just do all this stuff?

Answer 1

What do your financial regulations say?

Comments

Our financial regulations:
‘4. Budgetary control and authority to spend
4.1. Expenditure on revenue items may be authorised up to the amounts included for that class of expenditure in the approved budget. This authority is to be determined by:
• Full Council, in advance, for all items over the lower of £1,000 or a duly delegated committee limit;
• a duly delegated committee of the Council for items over £1,000 up to its delegated limit;
• The RFO, with clearance of the Chair of the Council or Chair of the appropriate
committee, for any items between £500 and £1,000;
• The RFO, for items below £500 or the Town Clerk if expenditure relates to a project.
Such authority is to be evidenced by a minute or email produced by the Town Clerk or RFO, and where necessary also by the appropriate Chairman.
Contracts may not be disaggregated to avoid controls imposed by these regulations.
4.2. No expenditure may be authorised that will exceed the amount provided in the revenue budget for that class of expenditure other than by resolution of the Council, or duly delegated committee. During the budget year and with the approval of Council having considered fully the implications for public services, unspent and available amounts may be moved to other budget headings or to an earmarked reserve as appropriate (‘virement’).‘

I read this to mean that the person actioning the decision to purchase something may go ahead and spend the money on it if it does not exceed £1k without further council resolution. It does not give them the authority to decide WHAT to spend it on. That is for a council resolution. What do you think?

Answer 2

As a starting point, I would ask your clerk for a copy of the council minute (or in which paragraph it is stated in your financial regulations) which authorises him/her to spend £1K.  You will then be able to at least understand the circumstances in which the clerk's alleged authority exists.

My guess (and its only a guess) is that the clerk is authorised to spend £!K IN AN EMERGENCY.  I doubt that they have carte blanch (is that how you spell it?) to spend £1K in other circumstances.

Comments

These are our financial regulations which appear to apply…

‘4. Budgetary control and authority to spend
4.1. Expenditure on revenue items may be authorised up to the amounts included for that class of expenditure in the approved budget. This authority is to be determined by:
• Full Council, in advance, for all items over the lower of £1,000 or a duly delegated committee limit;
• a duly delegated committee of the Council for items over £1,000 up to its delegated limit;
• The RFO, with clearance of the Chair of the Council or Chair of the appropriate
committee, for any items between £500 and £1,000;
• The RFO, for items below £500 or the Town Clerk if expenditure relates to a project.
Such authority is to be evidenced by a minute or email produced by the Town Clerk or RFO, and where necessary also by the appropriate Chairman.
Contracts may not be disaggregated to avoid controls imposed by these regulations.
4.2. No expenditure may be authorised that will exceed the amount provided in the revenue budget for that class of expenditure other than by resolution of the Council, or duly delegated committee. During the budget year and with the approval of Council having considered fully the implications for public services, unspent and available amounts may be moved to other budget headings or to an earmarked reserve as appropriate (‘virement’).’

It’s the interpretation of these I guess that is causing the problem.
I believe that the council decides whether and what to spend the money on…and if it’s under £1k the clerk does not have to come back to council for authority to spend the money. They cannot make decisions that the councillors ought to be making, just because it won’t result in a spend of over £1k. Don’t you think?

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From what you have said, I think your council needs to distinguish between what is urgent (if the drains blocked at your village hall on a sunday morning, it would be perfectly reasonable for your officers to call out the plumber and settle the bill) and what is not.  Non urgent items at £1K could be subject to council/committee approval in the usual way.

Answer 3

Your question related to Authority to Spend - This should be set out your financial regulations. In addition to your financial regulations it is sensible to have it within a seperate document dealing with Scheme of Delegation (Ordinary & Emergency). Large community/parish/town councils authority to spend £1000 is obviously much more palatable than a tiny Council where £1000 represents a significant % of annual spend. 

My personal opinion is in a large council it makes perfect sense and works well. The caveat is for it to work you must have robust transparent reporting arrangements with good quality officer reports detailing decisions taken.   

Answer 4

We have routine authority in FSOs for clerk to spend <£250 with the approval of the chair, or <£500 in an emergency.
We have the opposite problem to that described in OP. - the nervousness / unwillingness to just do something necessary and authorised without having to wait for a PC meeting. It is unnecessarily slow and cumbersome.
If only people would read, absorb and apply approved delegations. We are slowly but surely, exercising the ghosts of oppressive, and obsessive former clerk who got her sandwiches in a road map.

Comments

‘4. Budgetary control and authority to spend
4.1. Expenditure on revenue items may be authorised up to the amounts included for that class of expenditure in the approved budget. This authority is to be determined by:
• Full Council, in advance, for all items over the lower of £1,000 or a duly delegated committee limit;
• a duly delegated committee of the Council for items over £1,000 up to its delegated limit;
• The RFO, with clearance of the Chair of the Council or Chair of the appropriate
committee, for any items between £500 and £1,000;
• The RFO, for items below £500 or the Town Clerk if expenditure relates to a project.
Such authority is to be evidenced by a minute or email produced by the Town Clerk or RFO, and where necessary also by the appropriate Chairman.
Contracts may not be disaggregated to avoid controls imposed by these regulations.
4.2. No expenditure may be authorised that will exceed the amount provided in the revenue budget for that class of expenditure other than by resolution of the Council, or duly delegated committee. During the budget year and with the approval of Council having considered fully the implications for public services, unspent and available amounts may be moved to other budget headings or to an earmarked reserve as appropriate (‘virement’).‘

This was not an emergency spend, a decision was made to make an offer to a group to provide something for them. Councillors were cut out of the decision making process and that the clerk can make decisions which do not cost the council more than £1k has been presented as FACT and I am being ridiculed for interpreting this differently. A member of the public has asked me how come the town council turned her group down for a grant. I knew nothing about their request. Meanwhile the clerk is deep in negotiations to offer something else to them. I think that it makes a mockery of the democratic process.

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I tend to agree your assessment

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Especially with larger Councils there must be some common sense with say day to day expenditure on consumables
But a payment to a group clearly doesn’t fall under that and I agree it makes a mockery of the democratic process
Let me add a further example a Clerk who refuses to put an item of expenditure on the agenda because “ they consider it a waste of money “

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Thank you. I do appreciate your taking the time to reply.

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Thank you, Jules, and exactly that!

Answer 5

This depends on what powers the Council has granted the Clerk in earlier times. Clerks can be responsible for all manner of things if a Council approves it. Many lazy Councillors allow the Clerk to get on with things to save them the trouble of having meetings and approving things.  They often enjoy the title but not the work involved.