Councillors on Caerphilly County Borough Council have agreed to put aside a further £500,000 to cover legal costs and salaries for three bosses suspended in a long-running pay scandal.
Chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan, his deputy Nigel Barnett and head of legal Daniel Perkins were all suspended on full pay in 2013 in the wake of a report from the Wales Audit Office.
The report found a decision to award secret pay rises to around 20 council bosses was unlawful because Mr O’Sullivan had himself written the report recommending the pay rises and that he was present at a secret meeting of five councillors that agreed them.
Assistant Auditor General Anthony Barrett said the meeting itself was illegal because it had not been publicised beforehand.
Mr O’Sullivan saw his salary increased from £132,000 to £158,000, although after details of the increase were leaked to the media this was reduced to £5,000.
The Wales Audit Office report prompted a police investigation and Mr O’Sullivan, Mr Perkins and Mr Barnett were arrested and charged with misconduct in a public office.
In October last year a judge dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence.
The three have remained suspended on full pay while the council carries out its own internal disciplinary investigation.
At a full council meeting on Tuesday, July 19, councillors voted to set aside a further £282,000 to cover the three men’s salaries from September 1 2016 to March 31 2017 and £220,000 to cover potential legal costs over the same period.
Council leader Keith Reynolds, who was at the secret pay meeting which agreed the increases in September 2012, told councillors: “The ongoing investigation is part of a statutory procedure and process, over which we have absolutely no discretion to alter.
“I can understand the concerns of every single member in this chamber as far as the ongoing financial consequences are concerned.
“This investigation has gone on for far too long.”
Plaid Cymru councillors abstained in the vote.
Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru Group, said: “It’s long overdue that this sorry saga is concluded.
“The Plaid group has not agreed with several aspects of this over almost four years now, so we will not be voting for the recommendation.”
Labour’s Cllr Reynolds said Plaid members were aware there was no room for discretion in the process and said the decision to abstain was a show of “hypocrisy” and “cowardice”.
There has previously been reports that councillors were considering “paying off” the suspended officers in a bid to draw the issue to a close.
Sources however have now reported this option to be off the agenda following anger from unhappy councillors.
This farce rolls on and on – I said it would back in March 2013. Get ready, tax payer, to dig deep in your pockets to fund this crass incompetence.