Disgraced council chief seeks £300k in back pay
A COUNCIL chief executive who was sacked after being on fully paid “special leave” for more than six years has sent the authority that dismissed him a bill for more than £300,000.
Anthony O’Sullivan claims Caerphilly council should pay him for holidays he couldn’t take, for elections he couldn’t run, for a pay rise he wasn’t awarded and for legal fees he incurred when he faced a criminal charge that was eventually dropped.
Mr O’Sullivan was deemed by the Assistant Auditor General for Wales to have acted unlawfully when recommending himself for a secret salary increase of £26,000 in 2012.
He was initially suspended in March 2013 and was later put on “special leave”. Until his dismissal earlier this month, he continued to receive his full £137,000 salary despite not having to turn up for work.
The process took as long as it did partly because Caerphilly council delayed appointing an independent expert to look into the matter and recommend what course of action to take.
Next week Caerphilly council is holding a special meeting to discuss a claim submitted by Mr O’Sullivan that, if paid in full, would cost the authority at least £319,337.
The claim consists of four items:
■ Holiday pay – £159,772
■ Unpaid salary increase he claims he was entitled to – £22,930
■ Returning Officer election fees since 2013 – £79,684
■ Legal fees for defending the criminal case – £41,841
Mr O’Sullivan’s argument is that he was unable to take holidays because he was on special leave, that he should have received the salary increase awarded to other staff who were working, that he would have been entitled to the election fees if he had not been on special leave, and that he should have been indemnified for his costs in defending himself against the criminal charge which was dropped.
If the council concedes that Mr O’Sullivan should have received a pay rise while on special leave, the amount of holiday pay would also go up, bringing the total claim to around £328,000.
A report to next week’s council meeting states in relation to Mr O’Sullivan’s claim for reimbursement of legal costs: “The former chief executive has indicated that he incurred considerable expense in the defence of the criminal proceedings and is seeking reimbursement of these costs from the council.”
The report sets out details of the 2006 Welsh Assembly Order that makes provision for such reimbursement.
The Caerphilly council report adds: “One condition was a requirement to seek authority in advance.
“This was not drawn to the former chief executive’s attention at the relevant time and therefore the council is proposing that the condition be waived.”
The report goes on to refer to a settlement made with Mr O’Sullivan’s former deputy, Nigel Barnett, in 2017.
Mr Barnett had also been suspended and then put on special leave as part of the same investigation.
He was reimbursed for a shortfall in costs awarded to him out of central funds when the criminal case against him was dismissed.
Like Mr O’Sullivan, Mr Barnett had been charged with misconduct in a public office.
Commenting on Mr O’Sullivan’s demand for more than £300,000, a council insider said: “The people of Caerphilly county will be absolutely staggered at the cheek of these claims when Anthony O’Sullivan has already received more than £1m in pay and pension payments while sitting at home for the past six years.
“Claiming £159,000 in lieu of leave beggars belief – he’s effectively been on holiday for the past six years. Anthony O’Sullivan has no shame and he’s clearly determined to take council taxpayers to the cleaners.”
A councillor who did not wish to be identified said: “I have never heard anything like this in my life.
“The council is already a laughing stock after paying him not to work for so long. This absolutely takes the biscuit.”
THE leader of Caerphilly’s Plaid Cymru group has described a £37.6m capital underspend by the council as “hugely embarrassing”.
Figures in Caerphilly County Borough Council’s annual performance report show the council had a capital budget of £116.24m in 2018-19 but only spent £78.62m - an underspend of 32%.
The capital budget includes specific costs for updating and maintaining key assets and implementing major new projects.
Leader of the council’s Plaid Cymru group Cllr Colin Mann said: “This is hugely embarrassing.
“The council should not be raising money for schemes in the knowledge that it is very likely that the money will not be spent – that’s raising money from council taxpayers under false pretences.
“And these underspends have been happening every year for several years.
“We shouldn’t be raising money unnecessarily from already hard-pressed council taxpayers just to put it in the bank. It is clear that much better planning on major projects is needed.
“This is another example that Caerphilly is run poorly and is a failing authority - yet the Welsh Government just sits by and does nothing.”
The report shows the council underspent in every sector apart from public housing stock, where the council spent their budget allocation.
Highways saw the biggest underspend. Only £11m of the £17m budget was spent.
Other areas to see an underspend include education, private housing, social services and community and leisure.
A spokesman for Caerphilly council said: “There are numerous reasons for this level of underspend, as can be expected in budgets linked to large capital projects.
“There can be unforeseen delays to approved schemes which are totally beyond our control or money can often be ring-fenced for particular projects that need to be carried over to future years.
“We have successfully delivered many major capital projects over recent years and we will continue to review and target significant investments as part of our place shaping agenda going forward.
“The fact remains that we have an excellent track record of managing and delivering major schemes and no concerns have been raised by our external auditor regarding our approach.”