Frustration at Oakham Town Council as "Poorly Presented" Financial Report is Deferred, Committee is set up for UK Town Culture Bid

Frustration at Oakham Town Council as "Poorly Presented" Financial Report is Deferred, Committee is set up for UK Town Culture Bid 

By Local Democracy Reporter

Oakham Town Council’s latest extraordinary meeting descended into frustration this week as councillors grappled with an incomplete agenda report, and a race against time for a national cultural bid.

The meeting began with a sharp rebuke of a proposal to transfer funds from the council’s HSBC account to a new account with Unity Bank. The item was ultimately deferred after being labeled "poorly presented" a member.

The Clerk’s proposal notably failed to state the specific amount intended for transfer. Cllr Brookes raised serious alarms, questioning a request to move the "majority of funds" without clear details or sight of the new account’s terms. It emerged that while the Unity Bank account had been approved "a long time ago," most current members were not on the council at the time and had no record of the decision.

Cllr Paul Ainsley appeared to be the only member who recalled the original approval. Accessing the council’s HSBC accounts via his mobile phone during the meeting, he suggested a transfer figure above £350,000. which the Clerk had decided was the figure he wanted to transfer at a rate of £10,000 each day.

Despite the lack of clarity, Chairman Cllr Chris Nix moved to defer the matter, telling the Clerk, "This is no reflection on you" a comment that drew later criticism from Cllr Brookes.

Cllr Brookes requested that future papers include:

An annual review of HSBC signatories (a statutory requirement).

The formal appointment of signatories for the new Unity account.

The council has a history of slow progress regarding bank mandates; it reportedly took months to approve Lloyds Bank signatories, only for one appointee to resign shortly after.

Following the meeting, Cllr Brookes did not mince words regarding the council’s internal governance.

"Our financial regulations are meant to be robust to protect public money; far too often the council is sloppy," Cllr Brookes stated.

He revealed that a promised half-year internal audit has yet to be arranged by the Clerk despite repeated requests. Cllr Brookes also took aim at the Chairman’s "no reflection on you" remark, adding: "How will things ever improve when staff don't follow regulations but are constantly told in public they have not done anything wrong?"

Further controversy has arose with the revelation that a staff member was previously paid a £500 bonus for covering a "doing a great job" during an absence, while the long term staffing issues continued to simmer.

The council did eventually find agreement on one front: applying for UK Town of Culture status. The bid was prompted by Cllr Brookes, who spotted a "dreadful" and "unfairly critical" article in Nub News lambasting the council for not applying. Prior to this article the council had no knowledge of the opportunity.

A new committee has been formed to meet the 55-day deadline:

Chair: Cllr Jonathan Nicolls

Members: Cllrs Paul Ainsley, John Harris, and Chris Clark.

The committee has to rush to find member from the community.

Cllrs Powel and Payne from Rutland County Council were present and spoke, Cllr Powel said Rutland County Council would provide a letter of support if required.

However, the bid is already mired after the meeting. Cllr Brookes expressed concern over Cllr Ainsley’s suggestion that if local organisations and schools fail to reply to consultation letters, the government "does not need to know," so long as a few replies are received.

The council also approved a move to Google Workspace at the request of Cllr Ainsley. This was met with resistance from two councillors who pointed out that the council already pays for Microsoft subscriptions that offer the same services.

The Clerk confirmed that while the council pays for these subscriptions, Cllr Brookes noted that members are currently "not granted use of any packages apart from Outlook email," and even then they are not granted access  to many of the available features. He added members also lack access to the NALC (National Association of Local Councils) portal for legal guidance, despite the council paying for it. and numerous request for login details to be supplied to members go unanswered. 

Additionally, the council agreed to adopt .Gov.UK Notify, a text messaging service to keep residents informed of council workings.

The evening concluded with a closed-door emergency staffing meeting. While details remain confidential, Cllr Brookes noted that Oakham has "failed to deal with staffing correctly" for years, stretching back to the previous Clerk before he had returned to the council. That Clerk attempted and failed to seek money via a tribunal.

He offered praise for Melanie, the temporary admin assistant, suggesting she is being used "past the maximum we should expect." The staffing committee had intended to meet the Clerk today to discuss the meeting's outcomes, only to discover he previously arranged to take the day off.

Oakham Town Council is scheduled to meet again next Wednesday.