The Role of the Clerk

The Clerk is the ‘Proper Officer’ of the Council who is responsible for the smooth running of the Council’s business. He/she is the first point of contact for the Council and all correspondence comes to the Clerk.

Responsibility for implementing the decisions of the Council rests with the Clerk along with giving professional guidance where necessary whilst remaining neutral and discrete. The Clerk is also responsible for financial management.

The Clerk prepares, circulates and displays agendas in public places. She/he signs notices and summonses with a list of business to be transacted but does not have the power to fix the meetings of the Council. The Clerk is required to attend meetings, take minutes, keep Council minutes in a book and hold other documents.

A member of the Council may be appointed as Clerk without remuneration but nowadays it is more usual to appoint someone who is not a councillor to be paid for the work they undertake.