Struggling council's £209,000 absent boss pay off

A cash-strapped assembly has agreed a £209,000 colony to wage disconnected its main enforcement who has been absent for astir a year.

Sources person told BBC Wales that members of Caerphilly assembly met successful concealed connected Monday evening to hold a wage retired for Christina Harrhy, who has not worked astatine the authorization since past November.

The authorization is trying to save £45m from its fund implicit the adjacent 2 years and has faced rows implicit plans to adjacent a depository and an arts venue.

The assembly confirmed that Ms Harrhy, who was appointed successful 2018 and had a wage of £148,773 successful 2022-23, had near the authorization and her lawman Dave Street had taken over.

It confirmed a gathering took spot to sermon a "confidential employment issue" and it "would not beryllium due to disclose the details of the meeting".

In 2021 the authorization gave its erstwhile main enforcement Anthony O’Sullivan, who was sacked successful a wage row, a £97,500 payout.

At Monday's gathering the assembly said Harrhy had been absent since November 2023 owed to sickness.

It is understood that, aft she was assessed to beryllium acceptable for enactment successful January, she had raised concerns astir moving relationships and spot relating to Labour person Sean Morgan and a elder officer.

Sources said an autarkic probe that reported successful the summertime allegedly did not basal up the claims.

It is not wide what happened betwixt the main enforcement and Mr Morgan.

The colony is made up of 10 months' wage - costing taxpayers £146,000 - outgo successful lieu of announcement of £43,800 and accrued yearly permission of £19,200.

Officials were said to person argued that the outgo of a colony was cheaper than going done a further probe and facing a tribunal.

The sources told the BBC that the colony was voted done by the council's governing Labour group.

The authorization precocious took the arguable determination to astatine slightest temporarily adjacent Llancaiach Fawr Manor, a Tudor mansion and depository aft spending £500,000 a twelvemonth subsidising the site.

It has besides projected to mothball Blackwood Miners' Institute.

A root said: "I deliberation radical person been asked to enactment up with a batch with queries connected changing services.

"I deliberation determination volition beryllium an outpouring of unhappiness from the public. This is not the mode to tally an authority."

Harrhy confirmed she had near the assembly but declined to comment.

Morgan besides declined to comment.

A Caerphilly assembly spokesperson said: "A peculiar gathering of assembly took spot connected Monday 7 October to sermon a confidential employment issue. It would not beryllium due to disclose the details of the meeting.

"We tin corroborate that Christina Harrhy has near the authorization and that the lawman main executive, Dave Street, volition enactment arsenic interim main enforcement portion the assembly considers the adjacent steps successful presumption of appointing a imperishable main executive."