Dave Burbage, ex-MD of IWC, hasn’t left, but remains on temporary contract
At the beginning of December 2015, former deputy managing director, John Metcalfe was appointed Chief Executive and head of paid service of the Isle of Wight council.
When taking over from former managing director, Dave Burbage, the one role that John couldn’t also perform – that Dave did – was that of Section 151 Officer (what’s that?).
This is because the legally-required role can only be performed by a qualified accountant belonging to one of the recognised chartered accountancy bodies.
Dave to the rescue
Dave Burbage was due to leave the council at the end of the year, but it appears he’s come to the rescue.
He’s agreed to stay on at the IWC in a temporary part time role until the end of the financial year as Section 151 officer.
Sharing S.151 officer with another authority
At yesterday’s Employment Committee, members agreed to support a suggestion that the IWC should continue discussions to attempt to reach agreement with another local authority, with a view to having a part-time (0.6FTE) Section 151/Finance Officer.
Chair of the committee, Cllr Geoff Lumley, said that if followed through, this would allow Dave to finally retire from his temporary part-time role.
Could help secure on-going savings
The motion was agreed by five votes to one, Cllr Blezzard, who wanted to appoint a traditional, full-time Director of Finance voted against.
Paperwork for the committee explained further,
Whilst no formal discussions have yet been held with either authority about the possibility of sharing a Director of Finance role, it is anticipated that this could also secure on-going savings to the council as well as to provide the level of expertise and leadership support required for the finance service.
What’s a Section 151 officer?
The Section 151 officer has a number of statutory duties, including the duty to report any unlawful financial activity involving the authority (past, present or proposed) or failure to set or keep to a balanced budget.
They also have a number of statutory powers in order to allow this role to be carried out.
Image: tracy_olson under CC BY 2.0
