MINEHEAD Town Council’s two top officers have threatened to walk out of their jobs without notice if the behaviour of councillors did not improve.
Wiveliscombe town clerk Bryan Howe and Andy Giles, former clerk of Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council, who joined the Minehead authority in June as temporary clerk and finance officer, accused councillors of poor behaviour and discourteous conduct and declared: “Quite frankly, the people of Minehead deserve better.”
Mr Howe and Mr Giles, retired senior West Somerset Council finance officers, joined Minehead council in June after a month of turmoil following the resignation of former clerk Sue Sanders.
In a joint letter to all councillors, they pointed out that they had only agreed to an arrangement that had a no-notice period on either side.
“This was to ensure that if you were not happy with the work we were doing you could ask us to leave immediately. On the other hand, if we felt we were unable to help the council, we could walk away without obligation.
“We both feel that point has now been reached. We have advised the mayor that we are no longer prepared to work for the council if members continue to behave in this way.”
The officers said they believed that the authority would only succeed if councillors made fundamental changes in the way they behaved.
They told councillors: “If the council wants to move forward, fine – we will work to the best of our abilities to help you succeed.
“If, on the other hand, you would rather continue to conduct yourselves as you have been, please let us know because we both have far better things to do with our time.”
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