Call for council members to pay £68,000 bill over resignation

TAX campaigners are calling for 38 members of crisis-hit Doncaster Council to pay back a £68,000 bill racked up after the resignation of its former interim chief executive.

The TaxPayers' Alliance has written to public spending watchdogs demanding a surcharge is sought from the elected members and calls for them to be removed from office.

Matthew Elliott, the group's chief executive, has asked the District Auditor to act "as a matter of urgency" in the wake of a highly critical report on the running of the authority.

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The assessment, published by the Audit Commission last month, revealed shocking mismanagement, and Mr Elliott said it showed members were to blame for wasting cash.

He claims councillors who voted to appoint Tim Leader as temporary chief executive in January were responsible for 68,000 pay off he received when he resigned just weeks later after a breakdown in relations with the English Democrat mayor Peter Davies. Mr Leader was subsequently criticised by the watchdog, for his role in the appointment process and his subsequent conduct, along with Mr Davies, other senior officers and elected members.

In his letter to auditor John Prentice, Mr Elliott says the report revealed "defects" in Mr Leader's appointment, which was presided over by councillors who "wasted" taxpayers' money.

He lists the councillors involved and adds: "You are said to be 'currently seeking legal advice' before deciding whether there is any action you need to take in relation to the defects in Mr Leader's appointment.

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"In the circumstances, could you please confirm whether you are of the view that the above councillors are the ones at fault and what actions you propose to take against them to recover their waste of Doncaster taxpayers' money and to disqualify them as unfit to be councillors?"

Last night, leaders of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Alliance of Independent Members groups, who are under fire in the letter, dismissed the claims as "nonsense".

Labour leader Joe Blackham said: "Yes we were responsible for the appointment of Tim Leader, one of the finest officers to cross the threshold of the authority in my memory.

"I don't think there is any likelihood of any councillors being surcharged. We took advice from officers of the council and our actions to appoint Mr Leader were legal."

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Independent members leader Garth Oxby described the TaxPayers' Alliance call as "patently ridiculous" and also criticised the Audit Commission report as "wildly inaccurate".

Lib Dem leader Paul Coddington said he shared the concern over the waste of cash but added: "The TaxPayers' Alliance are mixing up several issues. The appointment of Tim Leader was perfectly above board."

Mr Elliott told the Yorkshire Post he stood by his call and added: "It is unacceptable that ordinary taxpayers should be left with a massive bill thanks to incompetent or wilful misbehaviour by councillors.

"The District Auditor has the power to seek orders for the councillors involved to pay taxpayers back, and we think he should do exactly that."

The auditor was unavailable for comment.