Clerk in the dark
‘Councillors won’t say why they want me suspended’
A TOWN clerk at the centre of a row that has led to more than half a council’s members resigning says he is still in the dark over why they left.
Seven of Beaumaris’s 14 councillors quit before Christmas after a meeting during which some left in tears.
Another councillor, Alwyn Rowlands, has since stood down, and the faction have now released a statement outlining their complaints.
Although they don’t mention him by name, the statement is believed to refer to the council clerk, Prof Trevor Ashenden.
It says they wanted the unnamed officer suspended, suggesting that “flaws in the system” were putting “staff and public in grave danger”.
Prof Ashenden has hit back, confirming that he is the officer at the centre of the row but saying that the councillors failed to explain to him why they believed he should be suspended.
The statement from ex-councillor Frank Carr said: “A survey was carried out and found there were many flaws in the system, such flaws putting staff and public in grave danger.”
He added that a staff member had been spoken to four times about these problems, and said that person refused to accept disciplinary procedures.
But Prof Ashenden said that at no time did the councillors specify what their problems with his conduct were.
He added: “What they still do not specify is what they think is wrong. That is what the argument was about, a few of them going off without the authority of the council looking into things. We do not know what they think presents a danger.
“On the four occasions they spoke to me they did not give any reason for why they wanted me suspended. They just said they were not happy.
“I asked them to explain their reasoning and they refused.”
The statement from Mr Carr went on to say that when the suspension was raised at the meeting before Christmas, matters became heated.
He wrote: “The reasons for such action were explained, but were shouted down by councillors who felt we were going too far with the survey.
“There are times in council debates that one has to be honest, which may upset the person it’s aimed at. The truth needs to be told, not what people want to hear for the sake of a quiet life.”
He added: “Questions were raised and statements made where our honesty and integrity was brought into question.
“We can all put up with a certain amount of criticism, but this was a step too far.
“Therefore as a group who have tried their best to move the council forward, we decided to leave en bloc and have now resigned.”