Who should pay the SLCC membership fee? The Council or the Clerk?

Question

Just wondering as I do not know how the Council benefits from membership. Nurses and others pay their own fees for membership of their professional bodies.

Answer 1

A lot of employers pay membership fees for their staffs membership of professional bodies. Hopefully it is a sign of a professional clerk who has a desire to learn. Maybe that extra knowledge they gain will be a great benefit to the council at some point.

It might even give them a forum where they can ask questions of other professionals rather than having to come and rely on the likes of me.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. If you just want someone to take the minutes and get quotes and are not too bothered if you accidentally breach any laws then maybe there is no point in paying the membership. If you want the clerk to go further and be able to advise council on potential legal issues before they arise then it might end up being worth every penny.

Answer 2

As to whether the council benefits form supporting fees for membership is for the council to decide ( along with employment committee input). If they decide yes it is value for money to have a better trained clerk  then they votre to pay. I would of course tend to insert into contracts of employment insurance that the PC does benefit for this support with a payback scheme to the PC should the clerk "move on" ( newly qualified) within an agreed period of time after qualification, to ensure the PC does see a benefit of investment of tax payers money.

Answer 3

If the council resolves to pay the subscription fee, the council should benefit from access to the resources at the SLCC site.

If you have Cllrs that wish to learn more and be better informed, they should ask to have access to NALC and county ALC login and password AND the SLCC login and password.

It is divisive and often contentious when Cllrs seek access to these resources with clerks and ALC /SLCC supporting the notion that only clerks should have access.

This is patently absurd if (and I'll accept it is a big if) there are Cllrs that want to read up independently.  This is often overtly prevented by a clerk since "knowledge is power" - my first tussle in this game was from a clerk with 20 years service to the PC telling me he'd tell me whatever I needed to know...

That didn't end well for him, 6 months after I joined that PC he threatened an Ind Trib, I countered with the proposition of a fraud investigation and he did a moonlight flit after arranging for the forensic wipe of the PC IT system.
Councils should adopt the approach - no access (to SLCC / ALC) resources - no subscription fee from public money.  That would put a rocket up NA:C and SLCC who seem to have forgotten who puts the bread on their table

Answer 4

Membership of the SLCC is on an individual basis, i.e. it is the clerk not the council who is the member.  In my opinion, councils definitely benefit from having a clerk who is qualified or at the very least has access to the resources available through that organisation.  Whether a council should pay or contribute to the clerk's fees is a matter for individual councils to decide as part of their employment package, although I know that several do contribute.
Membership of NALC is on a council basis, through the local/county office.  Not all councils are members and it is evident that the quality of the local/county office can vary considerably.  NALC has recently changed their website and how access is made to one on an individual basis so each user (user being defined as a councillor) setting up their own account online. I've not tried it so can't comment on how it is done or how user friendly it is.