The financial affairs of Barnsley Independent Group are under investigation by the regulatory body for political parties and elections.
Questions are being asked about funds which have not been declared to the Electoral Commission.
Treasurer Coun Mary Brankin wrote to the commission to say BIG did not need to provide a statement of accounts because there was no party bank account, members did not pay subscriptions and they met their own expenses.
However, they have been asking the council to make monthly deductions, of about £10, from their wages to put in a party pot.
They were given to BIG secretary Coun Sandra Birkinshaw by cheque, which she put into her own account; there is no suggestion she benefited personally.
The council does not usually deal in cheques and the normal procedure is for direct transfers to bank accounts.
Councillor Birkenshaw says the deductions were not subscriptions but expenses for work she carried out on behalf of the party, which included the cost of paper, photocopying and printing.
