Dinnington St John’s Town Council
So what is a town council? And where does it fit into the grand scheme of things?
A town council is the urban equivalent of a parish council and it’s the section of local government that is closest to the community, to everyone living in Dinnington. Our council looks after a number of local amenities, such as the Lyric Theatre, Coronation Park, Silverdale Allotments and the Park Avenue Cemetery. It’s job, in a nutshell, is to make Dinnington a great place to live and work.
Dinnington St John’s Town Council sits just below Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) which provides many of the larger scale services we use – things like rubbish collection, schools, social care and benefits, libraries etc etc.
Councillors, Committees and Meetings
Dinnington St John’s Town Council has fifteen members and holds meetings twelve times a year, though it doesn’t meet in August and some of the meetings are for special purposes – the Annual Meeting and the Precept Meeting for example. All of the meetings are open to the public and meeting dates are published in advance.
There are two committees and one working group.
The Council comprises 15 Councillors who are elected every 4 years. The Council is led by the Chair (who is supported by a Vice Chair) both of whom are elected by their fellow Councillors. The Chair is elected each year at the Council’s Annual meeting in May. Should a councillor resign during their 4 year term and insufficient people stand for election to fulfil the vacancy, then a process of co-option can be undertaken. Even though Town Councillors are elected, they do not get paid.
A Town Councillor is governed by a designated Code of Conduct which includes a statutory duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct by all.
The Council employs a Town Clerk (the Proper Officer), under section 112 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972, to provide administrative support for the Council’s activities. The Clerk, in financial matters, is known as the Responsible Finance Officer (RFO); some Parish/Town Councils separate the two roles, Dinnington St John’s Town Council’s Clerk is also the RFO. Any other staff employed by the Council, answer to the Clerk who is their line manager and is responsible for their performance.
Councillors have three main components to their work:
Decision making – Through meetings and attending committees with other elected members, councillors decide which activities to support, where money should be spent, what services should be delivered and what policies should be implemented.
Monitoring – Councillors make sure that their decisions lead to efficient and effective services by keeping an eye on how well things are working.
Getting involved locally – As local representatives, councillors have responsibilities towards their parishioners and local organisations. These responsibilities and duties often depend on what the councillor wants to achieve and how much time is available, and may include:
– Going to meetings of local organisations.
– Going to meetings of bodies affecting the wider community.
– Taking up issues on behalf of members of the public.
– Meeting with individual residents in their own homes.
Town Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer
The Clerk’s primary responsibility is to advise the Council on whether its decisions are lawful and recommend ways in which decisions can be implemented. To help with this, the Clerk can be asked to research topics of concern to the council and provide unbiased information to help the council to make appropriate choices.
The Clerk has a wide range of other responsibilities which are set out in his/her job description. The Clerk must recognise that the council is responsible for all decisions and that he/she takes instructions from the council as a body. The Clerk is not answerable to any individual councillor – not even the Chair.
The duties of the Responsible Finance Officer are to ensure that the Council’s financial records and activities comply with the ‘proper practices’ referred to in the Accounts and Audit regulations as set out in the NALC/SLCC document ‘Governance and Accountability for Local Councils.
In summary, the Clerk/RFO prepares financial reports for the Council. These reports cover budget monitoring, fund balances, receipts and payments to date, and other relevant reports. The Clerk/RFO is responsible for the preparation of the draft budget; when approved by the Council this forms the basis for the annual budget for the financial year, submitting of the precept with the relevant breakdown to Rotherham Borough Council, investments, bank transfers, VAT returns and many more.
The Clerk/RFO also manages the financial risk, the insurance risk, and the assets of the Council.
Each year the Council has an interim and final internal audit and an external audit. The Clerk/RFO must ensure that the annual return documentation, supporting paperwork and financial reports are completed ready for these audits.
Where Does the Money Come From?
Much of the town council’s work is funded from the ‘precept’ collected by Rotherham MBC as part of your council tax. In 2024 this amounts to slightly over £300,000 and most of that is spent, directly and indirectly, on the upkeep of our council run amenities. We also have some income from those amenities and from other sources.