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Has anyone ever been a borough councillor ?


Rewulf
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52 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Would anyone know how much they get 🤔🤔

Yes if any expenses are claimed, they are minuted and form part of the end of year accounts which are audited. Bank statements are reviewed and signed by two people at each meeting. As mentioned previously, people don’t become Parish Councillors to fiddle expenses. They are non paid volunteers who to try and help the community where they can. The only person who is on a wage is the clerk and employed by the County Council.

Can I ask, the parish councillor that you know, what is the size of the parish, what sort of expenses do they claim and have they told you that is the first thing they do at meetings and if so why would they tell you that?

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  • 1 year later...
On 30/03/2023 at 20:56, Humblepie said:

I am a parish councillor.

I only did it as they were short of numbers and were calling for volunteers about 6 years ago as they need a minimum of 5 councillors and were down to that number with a couple of people who had been giving up their free time for many years. They were due to retire and the council would have to fold. Its a very small parish and does have a touch of Dibley about it. Not a lot of power to do much but we do look after and represent what we can for the residents.  As for expenses, there aren’t any apart from the Clerk and that is minimal.

The Council is made up of 7 people from the villages from all walks of life, farmer, agronomist, builder, self employed etc

We spend about 2 hours a month to go through the issues that come up, we look at planning applications and comment and we are very fair with all applications. Most are passed without any objections but there are times when we do object if the application could have a detrimental affect on the 2 villages or to other residents.

We ensure the lanes and walkways are tidy and well kept, over hanging branches of trees are cut back. We provide funding through grants for local schemes that improve the area. We donate to the local church and the British Legion. We bang our heads against the wall constantly with the local council and highways agency but never give up and try to make sure problems are rectified. We ensure lanes are gritted as the local authority does not cover them. We make sure elderly residents are ok and looked after.

In the chairman role, there is a lot more to do as that person is the focal point for the residents about absolutely anything and I mean anything, even if it has nothing to do with the parish council.

Without our parish council, the larger parishes would swallow up the villages and they would go from two quaint villages to a suburb of a much larger town with houses being built in between.

It’s easy to criticise people through hearsay, who give up their own free time voluntarily to ensure a parish is being looked after. If anyone thinks that councillors haven’t got a clue, go an do it yourself rather than judge from the sidelines

 

Hello, I know this is an old post but see you live around York ? I was looking at the Village Council members ,  We had some nice Neighbours who moved back to a Village near York and Robin was a Agronomist , He would be Retired now, ?? They moved to Copmanthorpe ?

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21 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I know this is an old post but see you live around York ? I was looking at the Village Council members ,  We had some nice Neighbours who moved back to a Village near York and Robin was a Agronomist , He would be Retired now, ?? They moved to Copmanthorpe ?

Hello

Yes I know Copmanthorpe pretty well, but not any of the parish councillors. We live East of York and our parish is called Catton which consists of High & Low Catton. It’s a lot smaller than Copmanthorpe with only about 350 residents across both villages compared to around 4,000 in Copmanthorpe.

Kev

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1 hour ago, Humblepie said:

Hello

Yes I know Copmanthorpe pretty well, but not any of the parish councillors. We live East of York and our parish is called Catton which consists of High & Low Catton. It’s a lot smaller than Copmanthorpe with only about 350 residents across both villages compared to around 4,000 in Copmanthorpe.

Kev

Hello Kev, Joan and Robin bought if i remember an old Farm House but it was years ago that we went to visit, Askham had an old Pub and there was a Ladies Prison near, Must have had a lot of changes over 40 years , Cheers

Edited by oldypigeonpopper
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On 30/03/2023 at 20:05, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I know a parish councillor and the first thing they do at meetings is book down their expenses 🤔

Yes the same as my friend said about when he was a councillor.  A lot of the councillors attend every meeting but only stay long enough to sign in for their expenses. Then you get yourself on a couple of committees and it starts becoming a bit of an earner.

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On 30/03/2023 at 17:32, Rewulf said:

Im planning on going abroad early may anyway , so Ill be quiet for a bit then 

Ah, practice run    ??

Which towns are you hoping to 'twin' with  ?

Reminds me of a few years ago when 4 local Councillors AND their families, went to Florida. The mission was to persuade Floridians, to holiday in a local seaside resort here  ??  😂😂😂

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18 minutes ago, Westley said:

Reminds me of a few years ago when 4 local Councillors AND their families, went to Florida. The mission was to persuade Floridians, to holiday in a local seaside resort here  ?? 

All expenses paid I would imagine ?:lol:

Im enjoying my retirement from politics now, except from PW that is :good:

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2 hours ago, Vince Green said:

Yes the same as my friend said about when he was a councillor.  A lot of the councillors attend every meeting but only stay long enough to sign in for their expenses. Then you get yourself on a couple of committees and it starts becoming a bit of an earner.

Seems nothing changes for the better? Just training for the big trough?

2 hours ago, Vince Green said:

Yes the same as my friend said about when he was a councillor.  A lot of the councillors attend every meeting but only stay long enough to sign in for their expenses. Then you get yourself on a couple of committees and it starts becoming a bit of an earner.

Bit like the house of Lords then? Sign in for a quick 5* lunch, port and crackers to follow then clear off quick via the emergency door?

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