Clerks aggressive towards Chair in public meeting

Question

During a recent committee meeting which was open to the public the Clerk accused the Chair of lying

I know that at least three people present recorded the meeting and the Clerk has a history of aggression towards Councillors and members of the public

My reaction as a former Councillor at both Parish and Borough level was they wouldn’t dared to have made the accusation at a Borough meeting and had they done so they would have been suspended on the spot
Had I been Chairing the meeting I would have immediately closed it and obtained legal advice the very next day

So if you were Chairing the meeting what would you have done at the time and later ?

Answer 1

At the meeting I would say nothing (I realise that a lot could be said but its perhaps best dealt with when tempers have cooled).

"Later", I would be reading and implementing the council's disciplinary procedure to address this unacceptable behaviour.

Answer 2

If what occurred is as described, the chair should have verbally reminded the clerk that they should not interrupt a council meeting and ask that they moderate their behaviour in accordance with Model Standing Orders para 2 (or what ever that council has adopted) and then follow the guidance of sub paras a, b & c if necessary.

As a follow up, and in relation to the described incident, there should be an immediate initiation of a disciplinary process with suspension pending outcome a strong possibility.  It the outcome is any less than gross misconduct it is likely that the process has been bungled.   
Since it is reported that there is a "history" of such behaviour from the clerk that might indicate that there has been, or remains, a reluctance or inability to adequately address the matter before it became publicly problematic.

Is the chair a liar?

The clerk doesn't have any form of 'privilege' or 'protection' so they may be creating a defamation unless they have a reasonable defence...

Comments

Exactly my thoughts unfortunately the attitude seems to be well we all know what’s she’s like.
Based on my experience even in the Civil Service something would have happened and that’s saying something!

At Borough level it would never happen as no member of staff would ever dare say something like that even if true

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From what you've said Jules, doing nothing is no longer an option. The relationship must change immediately or end. The latter is the most likely outcome, as your Clerk clearly has no respect for the elected representatives.
As a matter of interest, how long has your Clerk been with you, is this her first Clerkship and has she been trained by your ALC? I have seen a number of instances of relationship breakdown directly attributable to the teachings of the ALCs.

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Plenty of examples of ALCs proactively advising / training / defending clerks to the detriment of councils - what a schizophrenic state for the NALC to have allowed local associations to get into.


Extract from NALC strategic aims:

Supporting councils and councillors.....

Answer 3

At Parish Level I would have made it clear that I had noted what had been said with something delivered without any emotion shown "I note the specific comment that has been made by an officer in attending tonights meeting which for avoidance of doubt strongly dispute. At this point i would simply reminder members & officers ensure contributions allign with expectations set out in relevant policies" and very coldly continued meeting. Ice cold not a flicker of emotion shown.
At a higher level with better resources I think i would have been minded to suspend the meeting (spoken to other officers such as head of legal etc & political council leadership team) who were present with a view to assigning another officer to remainder of meeting.