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Is it legal that the clerk who is also the RFO has the power elctronically to be able to withdraw money? Seems a bit odd to me. Surely there has to be rules?

thank you
by (1.2k points)

1 Answer

0 votes
It's highly desirable to have rules! They provide protection for the clerk as well as the council, as the clerk should not be placed in a position where there can be suspicion of wrongdoing. My opinions in more detail are as follows, and I believe they are in line with the standards required for local council finance.

Cash is best handled by an "imprest" system. That involves starting with a set sum of money, say £100. As it is spent, so receipts etc accumulate. At any time, the sum of receipts plus cash would be exactly £100. When the cash gets low, an amount of cash equal to the sum of all the receipts is withdrawn from the bank and the receipts filed. That restores the cash balance to £100, and so the process goes on. Working in this way, it is possible to have a spot check at any time that cash plus receipts add up to the set figure.

In general, purchase accounts should be settled by cheque, with the requirement for two councillor signatures. Many councils have relaxed this provision so that, for example, regular utility bills can be paid by direct debit. However, it is excessively lax to allow payments solely on the authorisation of the clerk, who should not be an account signatory.

While it is desirable to delegate enough responsibility to the clerk to avoid excessive involvement in detail by the council, there must also be effective control procedures. It is important that there should be an effective programme of councillor audits.
by (33.0k points)
Thanks counterpoint. I feel for the clerk as she is new and the chair and v/chair are bullies and most are afraid of them; I don't want to see her dropped into a situation she can't get out of. Unfortunately she sees this bully chairman as the 'boss' and his clique are shocking.
I will keep in touch as the chair has just given the county councillor a telling off by email for asking the clerk to put on the agenda her county councils points. She has come back with all guns blasting but the clique will stand firm as per usual. Surely an elected county councillor doesn't have to take this disrespect and lack of respect for her sex and politics; (the clique against her politics and have, in a covert way said this at meetings "when most are not listening". I think I'll just hang up my boots it is so tiring. Thank you for your comments and advice
That is a sad situation. A local council is not obliged to allow time for councillors from principal authorities, and they have no right to insist on agenda items. Having said that, most councils are anxious to have a constructive dialogue with district and county councillors, with information and questions passing in both directions. The council of which I am a member has a standing agenda item for this purpose. Alienating councillors from principal authorities is foolish and against the interests of citizens.

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