A SWEEPING plan to modernise Minehead Town Council by changing its financial regulations, improving its public image and sending councillors for training has been accepted by the authority.

At its meeting on Tuesday (July 24), the council unanimously approved the draft document, drawn up by two retired West Somerset Council finance officers brought in to help stabilise the authority after a month of turmoil due to the lack of a qualified clerk.

Wiveliscombe Town Council clerk Bryan Howe has taken over as town clerk for three months and Andy Giles, former clerk of Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council, is acting finance officer for a similar period.

Since the resignation of the previous town clerk Sue Sanders in May, the council office was run by two clerical staff members. Three council meetings ended in uproar after it was claimed that the lack of a qualified clerk made them illegal.

Introducing the draft proposals at Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Howe said their object was to provide a structure which would allow the council to develop and move forward in an efficient way.

Recommending the adoption of the plan, Mr Howe reminded councillors that the authority was the largest town council in West Somerset, serving 12,000 people.

But while the council’s financial situation was relatively healthy, with reserves of over £1 million and £600,000 set aside for capital works, it had no medium-term financial or asset management plans.

Without these, it was difficult to assess the financial impact which came from services such as providing public toilets or new capital projects.

“It will be a document that will be subject to continued scrutiny and debate with projects being amended or removed when goals have been reached.

“At this stage the plan is just a draft document to be discussed and debated by councillors and other stakeholders.”

Mr Howe said that four areas would be given high priority: financial regulation, standing orders, staffing structure and committee structure.

A special meeting of the council will be held in August to decide on these issues after they have been discussed by working parties of councillors.

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