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01
Oct
Monitoring officer rules out Ripon investigation
North Yorkshire Council’s monitoring officer appears to have ruled out opening an investigation into Ripon City Council.
Several Riponians are believed to have asked monitoring officer Barry Khan, who is also North Yorkshire Council’s head of legal and democratic services, to probe recent political turbulence.
In just over a fortnight mayor Cllr Jackie Crozier has resigned, her successor Cllr Barbara Brodigan faces a public vote of no confidence, the leader and deputy leader roles have been abolished and three of four staff members, including chief officer Paula Benson, have left. The fourth employee has gone off sick.
Former leader, Councillor Andrew Williams, claimed the city council acted unlawfully when it elected Cllr Barbara Brodigan as mayor because Cllr Crozier had not formally resigned.
He said the move “risked legal challenge” and later suggested Cllr Crozier would contact the monitoring officer about the matter.
Despite its name, Ripon City Council only has the powers of a parish council.
The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Council how many people had written to it about the situation in Ripon, what action they had requested and what action the monitoring officer intended to take.
A spokesperson said it was “unable to comment on whether people have written to the monitoring officer”.
But they added the monitoring officer “can only consider complaints about the alleged behaviour of individual councillors and whether their behaviour breaches a council’s code of conduct for its councillors”, adding:
The monitoring officer has no jurisdiction to consider complaints about town or parish councils as a whole, the way in which they have or have not conducted their business nor decisions made by them.
North Yorkshire Council and its monitoring officer have no jurisdiction or powers to deal with issues of maladministration or lawfulness of the decisions or actions of town or parish councils nor the terms of the constitution/standing orders of a town or parish council. Complaints about town or parish council governance, the lawfulness of its decision-making processes and decisions should therefore be raised with the town or parish council itself.
The spokesperson added the monitoring officer could consider complaints against individual parish councillors “if the complaint relates to a breach of the town or parish council’s code of conduct for its councillors”.
Parish councils, they said, were “separate legal entities governed by their own constitutions, rules and procedures”.
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