THE chief finance officer of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council will take on the role for Merthyr Tydfil as well for four months.
The proposal approved by both full councils on Wednesday, July 17 will see Barrie Davies, the section 151 officer of RCT, also becomes the Section 151 officer of Merthyr Tydfil for the next few months.
Merthyr Tydfil Council is currently recruiting for a replacement statutory chief finance (Section 151) officer following the resignation of the previous one who is moving to a new role with a different organisation.
In the meantime it has reached out to request support for an interim period of four months from July 18.
Merthyr Tydfil Council does not currently have a deputy section 151 officer following the chief accountant moving to a new organisation in March, 2024, with the chief accountant role being covered by an agency contractor.
A report to Merthyr Tydfil full council said it was likely that the successful candidate for the director of finance would need to work a notice period with their current employer, which would leave the council without a section 151 officer in place for a period of up to four months and, as this is a statutory role, the council must consider options for interim arrangements.
Following discussions between the two councils, a proposal has been considered which would see Mr Davies appointed as the section 151 officer of Merthyr Tydfil Council so he would have dual responsibilities across both councils for an interim period.
The report said there would be the appropriate strengthening of deputy section 151 officers arrangements across both councils to ensure the best interests of both councils could be effectively secured with Stephanie Davies set to be the nominated as the deputy section 151 officer for Merthyr Tydfil Council.
She is currently a service director within the financial services management team at RCT and would also for this interim period have dual responsibilities across both councils.
Paul Griffiths would continue as the deputy section 151 officer at RCT, with a slightly enhanced role to assure resilience for the council.
Merthyr Tydfil would be charged £15,500 per month under these arrangements.
The report to RCT full council said the interests of Rhondda Cynon Taf would not be compromised during this period.
The Merthyr Tydfil council report said this interim solution provided the council with the assurance of experienced, financial expertise throughout a crucial period in what would be an incredibly difficult budget setting process.
It said there was also potential for shared learning and upskilling throughout this period, that could benefit both local authorities.
The Merthyr Tydfil Council report said that the cost of RCT providing this service was partially offset by the savings from the core role being vacant until the permanent appointment began, so the net effect of this was an additional cost of £33,000.
