Council Chairman refuses 'pointless and expensive' meeting

COUNTY Councillor Arwyn Williams, Chairman of Council, has today refused a request made by Labour Leader, Councillor Paul Miller for an extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council

However, a vote over the immediate suspension of the Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire County Council is still certain to take place.

In a letter last week, he and five other Councillors requested the special meeting – for a vote to be taken by all Councillors- to immediately suspend Chief Executive Bryn Parry Jones.

The Chief Executive Officer is under pressure over the ongoing pensions tax-dodge scandal which has first reported in The Herald on September 27.

Speaking tonight (October 7) Cllr Williams explained to The Herald the reasons for refusing the meeting:
“What’s the point of having an Extraordinary General Meeting when the matter of the pensions is already with the lawyers? Let’s allow the lawyers to work it out amongst themselves” he said.
“Do you realise the expense of calling sixty members to a meeting of full council?”

“We have a full council meeting on October 17 and Cllr. Miller can put forward a notice of motion to that meeting of full council in ten days time if he so wishes” he added.
Councillor Miller however has the option, under the Council’s own constitution, to press for the meeting to go ahead any way, my making a request to the Councils legal department.
Last week Cllr. Miller said “I do not doubt that the IPPG will try to delay matters until after the next full Council meeting, but this issue will not go away no matter how hard they try to sweep it under the carpet.”
“This is a meeting that must and will take place” he added.
“We will contact the Council’s chief legal officer Huw Miller, and he has to fix the date for such a meeting” he said.