Site reps here are volunteers on behalf of the organisation that manages the allotments (formerly the council).
As a general rule, we:
- Monitor the waiting list;
- Show prospective tenants around the site;
- Issue tenancy agreement forms to new tenants (but we don't deal with invoicing or any money stuff);
- Grant permission to tenants wishing to erect a shed or greenhouse or keep livestock, including issuing and returning forms to the organisation - though we leave the question of bees to the organisation as there are additional requirements for these;
- Notify the organisation about plots in a poor state of cultivation (but do not issue warning letters);
- Help to keep allotment tenants informed of waste collections, site matters and forthcoming events by displaying up to date notices on the site board (I and the other site secretary on my site have also set up a gmail account for us to contact our tenants on issues such as raising awareness of recent anti-social behaviour);
- Alert the organisation to any problems.
We have also liaised direct with the police & council about the recent ASB issues on site.
There is an allotment association that provides goods and services to its members (who are either private gardeners or have plots on sites across the city), and we are ex officio members on that committee.
In return we receive our own plot free and a small honorarium (depending on size of the site, I think) to cover phone and postage costs in carrying out our role.
The organisation arranges approx. two site secretary meetings a year, which are an opportunity to compare notes between sites and to learn from each others experience and to provide feedback to the Trustees of the organisation.