A parish council is an elected corporate body of non-paid volunteers who are elected every four years, plus a paid Parish Clerk/Responsible Finance Officer and are responsible for managing their budget, which is funded through a precept on the council tax collected by the local authority.
Stogumber Parish Council serves as the lowest tier of local government and its primary role is to represent the interests of the local community. We are the level of government closest to the community, below Somerset Council.
The administration of the Council is managed by the Proper Officer of the Council or Parish Clerk, who is a paid, part time, employee.
The Clerk’s role, acting as the “Proper Officer” of the Council, is to ensure that the Council, as a whole, conducts its business properly and in line with the Council’s and Local Government’s laws and regulations. The mandatory financial monitoring and reporting are the Clerk’s responsibility, and in this role the Clerk is known as the “Responsible Financial Officer” (RFO) of the Council.
The Clerk also provides procedural guidance for the Council itself, and ensures that statutory and other provisions governing or affecting the running of the Council are observed. The Clerk also prepares agendas for Council meetings and its Committees, gives notice of these to the Council members and the public, and records and publishes the Minutes of these meetings.
You can raise issues or concerns by contacting the Parish Clerk, or by speaking directly to any Parish Councillor.
Alternatively, every Parish Council meeting is open to the public, and there is always an opportunity for members of the public to speak on any matter listed on the agenda.