Membership
A parish or town council is made up of on average nine councillors and a parish clerk. The clerk is usually the only paid member of staff, unless there are other staff such as caretakers or groundspeople. Parish councillors are elected volunteers who serve for four years.
Funding and function
Parish and town councils are not funded by central or local government. A charge is made against all households in the parish and collected through council tax. The level of the charge is set by the parish council and reflects the funding it will need for the coming year.
Parish and town councils have powers relating to planning, provision of recreational facilities, halls, crime prevention, community transport, public toilets, tourism, allotments, footpaths and commons, but they are not obliged to use these powers and carry out these functions.