Agenda and minutes

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

34.1     Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beaman, Laughton, Merryweather, Palmer, Steijger, Sullivan and Ward.

To receive from Members, declarations of interest in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the Waverley Code of Local Government Conduct.

35.1     There were no interests declared in relation to matters on the meeting agenda.

The Joint Appointments Committee recommend to Council that:

Richard Bates be appointed as the Interim Section 151 Officer for Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council.

36.1    At the invitation of the Mayor, the Leader introduced the report and moved the recommendation from the Joint Appointments Committee, duly seconded by Cllr Clark.

36.2    The Leader stated that the Joint AppointmentsCommitteehad met on 14 August and had received a technical evaluation of the candidate together with statements from the Portfolio Holders for finance at both Waverley and Guildford Councils. A traditional interview had then followed which focused on the candidates’ experience of working as part of joint management arrangements, particularly considering the urgent budgetary position of Guildford Borough Council. The candidate demonstrated a clear understanding of the issues together with experience of the core competencies for the role. The Joint Appointments Committee had been unanimous in its recommendation to both Councils, which had each convened Extraordinary Council meetings.

36.3    Councillor Goodridge observed that the interim designation would be the third Section 151 Officer since the decision had been made just over two years ago to form a Joint Management Team with Guildford Borough Council. The daily rate for the role would be a significant budgetary strain on both Councils.

36.4    Councillor Hyman was concerned that the financial challenges at Guildford Borough Council would absorb significantly more of the postholders’ time and that it was apparent that any saving made by joint arrangements would be absorbed by interim arrangements instead. Councillors Hyman and Reed stressed the financial risk that it was uncertain how long the interim arrangement was intended to last.

36.5    At the invitation of the Mayor, the Leader responded to comments raised by Members, and in so doing clarified that Guildford Borough Council would be considering the same recommendation at an extraordinary meeting on 30 August. The candidate would be designated as Section 151 Officer of each Council separately, in accordance with legislation. The postholder would then operate across both Councils as part of the joint management team and the interim arrangement would be kept under review.

36.6    The Leader emphasised that the interim designation was not an indication of a merger with Guildford BC but was a pragmatic sharing of resources for the joint benefit of both Councils. It was expected that the postholder would balance their time across both councils equally overall, but would allow for flexibility according to business need.

36.7    Upon being put to the vote, Council RESOLVED unanimously that Richard Bates be designated as the Interim Section 151 Officer for Waverley Borough Council.