New monitoring officer appointed

A NEW monitoring officer has been appointed to Bridgend County Borough Council in a shakeup of senior management roles which will save around £500,000 a year.

Kelly Watson, who was the council’s group manager for legal and democratic services as well as the deputy monitoring officer, has been appointed to undertake the functions of solicitor to the council and monitoring officer.

The former monitoring officer and solicitor to the council, Andrew Jolly, has retired.

Mr Jolly was also the corporate director for operational and partnership services, but the council has scrapped the role in an ongoing senior management restructure.

The executive functions of the role have been transferred to both Ms Watson and the council’s chief executive Darren Mepham.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on June 20, cabinet member for wellbeing and future generations Dhanisha Patel said: “I think it’s sad that due to austerity we have had to look at our staffing levels and we’ve had to remove a senior director from our structure.

“Other than that, I see this as a tidying-up exercise and making sure the relevant people have the right tools to get on with the job.”

The monitoring officer has the specific duty to ensure that the council, its officers and its elected members maintain the highest standard of conduct in all they do.

Current proposals also involve the scrapping of the director and head of human resources posts, plus a head of service post.

The senior management review is designed to rationalise the structure and reduce costs.