Meet Your Council
Bradfield Parish Council is made up of 9 Parish Councillors plus the Parish Clerk.
The Councillors are elected every 4 years, with the next election due for 2011. If it is not possible to fill all 9 vacancies at the election then, as happened recently, villagers may be co-opted onto the Parish Council.
Councillors receive no payment for serving on the Parish Council. but may claim for expenses incurred in the course of their duties. Currently, all of the current Councillors have agreed not to claim any travelling expenses for travel within the Tendring area.
The Council has one paid employee, the Parish Clerk. The Town or Parish Council Clerk is the 'engine' of an effective Local Council. He or she is its principal executive and advisor and - for the majority of smaller Local Councils - is the officer responsible for maintaining financial processes and records.
The Clerk has a duty to give clear advice to all Members of the Council, including the
Chairman, before decisions are reached, even when that advice may be unpalatable. The Clerk has a key role in advising the Council, and individual Councillors, on governance and ethical matters and liaising with the Monitoring Officer at the District/Unitary Council on ethical issues and the Councillors' Register of Interests.