Newark Town Council agree for Nottinghamshire Association of Local Councils chief executive to visit as councillors divided over membership offer

A proposal to join a £2,000-a-year association has faced mixed opinions from councillors — but its boss will be invited to explain the benefits.

Newark Town Council discussed the possibility of joining the Nottinghamshire Association of Local Councils (NOTALC) at a meeting on March 12, where councillors had differing views on the benefit.

Council documents laid out that a NOTALC membership would provide the council access to advice on governance, assets, communications, HR, finance and more, legal advice notes, and trusted sector contacts.

Councillors and staff could also access subsidised training courses, free monthly training sessions, online webinars, newsletters and guides.

Newark Town Council have not previously been part of the association, due to the ‘prohibitive’ over £5,000-a-year fee, but this has since been reduced to £2,000.

To be a part of NOTALC the council must also join the national association. For the first year a free membership has been offered, but in subsequent years it could mean a nearly £1,000 additional cost each year.

Council documents suggested a £3,000-a-year fee could be “justifiable” if members had regular attendance at the training and webinars offered — but noted associations are often more geared towards smaller parish councils which have different needs to large town councils.

David Moore suggested the membership is not necessary, as the council has experienced staff — including the clerk and deputy clerk — who already fulfil much of what is offered by NOTALC.

However, Lisa Geary spoke in favour of the association, suggesting the training on offer could be beneficial for new members when they’re elected, as well as helping the council maintain “best practice”.

Jack Kellas added it was worth hearing from the CEO to see what NOTALC thought they could offer, and if it could help the council make its decision making “even better”, while leader Dawn Campbell said she was “in the middle” over the proposal.

“What’s broke that’s going to cost £2,000 to fix?” Matthew Spoors questioned.

“We can discuss 50p for hours on end at other meetings — I don’t see how this is value for money.”

Councillors agreed to invite the chief executive of NOTALC to make a presentation on what could be offered to the town council before considering committing to a years membership.