Home   Rutland   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Oakham Town Council calls extraordinary meeting as issues ‘hamper our ability to move forward meaningfully’




Oakham Town Council is holding an extraordinary meeting to try and get its business in order.

The authority, which has been hampered by staff absence, failed to hold a meeting as planned last week due to not having enough councillors to conduct business legally, leading town councillor Martin Brookes to declare the authority ‘broken’.

Mayor of Oakham Chris Nix and his deputy Anna Douthwaite
Mayor of Oakham Chris Nix and his deputy Anna Douthwaite

However mayor Chris Nix, who took on the mayoral chains last month, has now called an extraordinary meeting on Friday (June 20) to get some matters attended to.

The authority, which currently has only seven of its 12 councillor posts filled, needs to appoint a locum clerk as the clerk is currently not at work. Neighbouring Uppingham Town Council has been helping the council out on a pro bono basis.

Asked about the turmoil, Coun Nix said: “OTC is experiencing numerous issues, both historic and new, that manifested shortly before I became chair, which are presently hampering our ability to move forward meaningfully.

“We currently have two senior councillors, one of whom was standing in as our responsible finance officer in the absence of the clerk, also unavailable for active duty, meaning that the administrative and leadership burden is significantly more concentrated and amplified.

“As a backdrop to this, we have our external audit due by the end of this month as well as the retrospective ratification of our internal audit, on top of the routine administration of the council. This is further compounding an already difficult situation in the absence of sufficient staff and low number of councillors.

"I am working hard to keep matters from deteriorating, but I have inherited a substantially challenging situation.”

He continued: “Though we are at a difficult and critical time, it is my opinion that, with effective cooperation and alignment of purpose, OTC can grow into a highly effective and motivated council, so I disagree that we are approaching an untenable situation. I have, however, sought guidance from LRALC [Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils] regarding effective prioritisation of critical undertakings, relevant to OTC’s statutory obligations. I suggest that it is imperative for all councillors to pull together to achieve this.”

The councillors will discuss a recent internal audit. The auditor found the authority has improved in some financial areas but still has some improvements to make.

The authority this year received a precept of just over £300,000 and has around £450,000 in the bank.



Comments | 0
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More