So long, Farewell Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

In early spring 2015 SDC employed a new s151 officer (Chief Financial Officer) by the name of Joanna Miller. Ms Miller had come from Craven District Council (North Yorkshire) and left there after receiving a £50,000 compensation package.

During the Christmas break of 2015/16 she unexpectedly handed in her notice and it is understood that both the CEO of SDC, Alistair Stewart and Tim Madden a SDC Corporate officer tried to persuade her to stay, but to no avail.

An SDC Cabinet Source who asked not to be named said that Tim Madden will take over the role of S151 Officer until May 2015. Mr Madden was the former s151 officer and was promoted to a Corporate Director Role in May 2015.

It is not known why Ms Miller handed in her notice but all we hope and pray is it is not for the same reasons she left Craven District Council

We hope she is well and wish her all the best for her future.

What is a s151 Officer?

Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires every local authority to make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs and requires one officer to be nominated to take responsibility for the administration of those affairs. The Section 151 officer is usually the local authority’s treasurer and must be a qualified accountant belonging to one of the recognised chartered accountancy bodies. 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. The Section 151 officer also has a number of statutory powers in order to allow this role to be carried out, such as the right to insist that the local authority makes sufficient financial provision for the cost of internal audit.

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