Parish Council - thinking of joining, would like to speak to others with experience

[AmIAWeed]

Hi All

I hope you can help, I have for some time been attending our parish council meetings and I have a few concerns.
Firstly - I do think things could be done better, I believe the group are well meaning but recently likened them to the judges on the Salem witch trials...believe they are doing good. I can moan...or I can join and try and improve things
So I have a few concerns before I put my hand up and offer to join.
All members are co-opted on - not sure if that makes a difference.

There is an ongoing feud between the Parish council and the ex chair who no longer sits on the parish council meeting but attends every meeting and interrupts continually, shouts over and tells them they are wrong on every occasion.
So question one, what can be done about someone like this?
If you have a particularly difficult member of the public what help and support is there to PC members to ensure they are operating correctly?

Secondly, I volunteer on a couple of groups within our village and am on the committees. They are run by like minded individuals who don't have 'politics' restricting us and we get quite a lot achieved.
However, the PC have forced previously members to resign from these committees stating a conflict of interest. To my mind, if an issue comes up with either I would declare an interest and simply not vote on any decision.
Can they stop people from being on volunteer groups in this way?

And a particular issue that raises its head that really I'd just like clarity on!!!
Parish council issue agendas on the website 3 clear days before the meeting, i.e. not on the day of the meeting and not including the day it was put up nor Saturday or Sunday. All well and good and by the book, however the particular bug bare of one person is that it is not on the village noticeboard at the exact same time, he believes not everyone can access the internet and therefore the meeting is illegal. EVERYTIME he shouts it is an illegal meeting.
So....who is right, as long as it is issued in the same place consistently is that enough? or must it be both hard copy and electronically?
sorry that's so long.
I don't feel confident talking to the PC and volunteering until I'm clear on a few things and everything is them V ex chair so it's impossible to know who is correct

[BubblesBuddy]

Oh dear! Do you really want to join this shambles?

The best source of information on how a council should be run is available on the National Association of Local Councils web site. They run an accreditation scheme and full details of every aspect of running a PC is covered. As it’s long, I haven’t read it all for you but there are some aspects I can comment on from your post.

There should be elections. Clearly they are picking and choosing their friends to be councillors. If they think you are going to rock the boat, will they actually co opt you? It’s in their gift. I said I would do this role for my PC but they quickly found a retired male who had (allegedly) more time! So beware.

No: Parish Councils do not have to have members of the public present throughout the meeting every time. Councils can have an open meeting, say once a year, if they wish. They need to move to this model pdq! Then, I think they should publish agendas 1 week in advance and yes, a copy should go on the local notice board on the same day. You have to make an effort to engage with all the village residents. Just 3 days doesn’t give anyone much time to contact councillors about a matter in which they have an interest. Councils usually allow members of the public to speak to them about an agenda item prior to the meeting and allocate time for this. The public should be given time to tell the clerk they wish to speak. The visitors then leave. You can keep them waiting and call them in when you get to that item in the agenda or alter the running order of the agenda. However the public does not have a right to attend for the full meeting. So the current chairman and clerk need to ensure meetings are run efficiently. They are not public forums. So the ex chairman should not be admitted.

There is very little support and advice but talking to other PC chairmen would be a start. Can you find an accredited one. Ask the NALC?

If you wish to volunteer on other bodies that’s up to you. Frequently parish councillors are school governors or help with running the parish hall, for example. You cannot be prevented from doing this. In fact many councillors should get out into the community! The only conflict of interest that might arise would be if the council was considering granting money to an organisation where you volunteered. It’s perfectly ok for parish councillors to understand their community by volunteering. You would need to sort this out with them because you are correct and they are wrong.

Lastly, they need training. The clerk must be poor to allow this to continue. If you join, the least you should do is read up about what a competent parish councils should look like and the accreditation scheme is the best resource. This sounds like a dysfunctional council and you might not change this on your own!

[GreenShadow]

You can't ban the public from parish council meetings!

Not very democratic.

They can only be asked to leave if it is a (genuine) confidential item (staff matter/tenders etc).

[GreenShadow]

Go ahead and join. You sound like you'll be an asset to the organisation.

[Graceambrose]

If a member of the public acts in a dysfunctional manner at a parish council meeting, the Chair should ask the person to stop. To leave the meeting if disruption persits. Place a formal complaint to the local police, and ask for police attendance at the next Parish meeting. Report the matter to the Standards officer of the local District/Borough Council.