Staveley councillor apologises for not addressing town council’s ‘inherited’ financial plight sooner

The town council avoided bankruptcy after Chesterfield Borough Council agreed to loan the authority £400,000 in February, 2023, and an independent Improvement Board criticised the town council’s financial management between 2011 and 2022 in a report which stated the council’s financial situation had been caused by events which were not just faced by one particular political group’s administration.

Problems had arisen since the Labour administration from 2011/12 until 2018/19, and since the Community Independents’ administration from 2019/20 under Cllr Mann which had no support from the Liberal Democrats, according to the Board report’s findings.

Community Independent Cllr Mann said: “I was Leader from 2019 to 2023 [and] as the report says I did not do enough to stop the rot that the report says I inherited and I put my hands up to that.”

However, Cllr Mann claims the financial situation at the town council had become complicated by the time he took over as leader – which he felt was highlighted in the Board’s report – and the situation had become further confused because he claimed loans had been taken out to pay off loans.

The Improvement Board’s report stated that it identified poor governance and poor financial management issues between 2011 and 2022, but it recognised councillors now want to make the town council effective and it acknowledged its potential and praised the current town clerk while urging more effective partnership between councillors and other authorities.

Cllr Mann stated that if he had spotted the depth of the problem sooner in 2019 he would have borrowed more money sooner to be paid back more quickly to deal with the matter.

He added that he understood Staveley Town Council would not do well during and after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic but he argued that as soon as everyone got back into the office and had got a full report into the town council’s full finances in November, 2022, he started to address the problem.

Cllr Mann said he contacted both Chesterfield’s Labour MP Toby Perkins and NE Derbyshire’s Conservative MP Lee Rowley and he felt Mr Rowley had helped to bring people together to try and resolve matters while in the meantime Mr Pekins has called for a Community Governance Review to consider the future of the town council.

Cllr Mann also felt that Chesterfield Borough Council had initially been reluctant to help before agreeing to loan the town council £400,000 to save it from bankruptcy.

The Board’s report confirmed Staveley Town Council’s budget was ‘balanced’ by November, 2023, and it stated that the council has been showing an understanding of its commitments and that a new financial system has been introduced and it has reduced expenditure.

The town council has stated that it aims to demonstrate good governance, better engagement with the community, improved management and improved work with staff and councillor development, and it has also adopted the report’s recommendations.

It is also working towards restoring the council’s general reserves and expects a general fund surplus of approximately £60,000 by the end of the financial year on March 31.

The Board report also revealed, that ‘without exception’, each person the investigative board spoke to declared that Staveley Town Council should continue because the town should be represented to avoid efforts and resources being concentrated in Chesterfield.

Staveley Town Cllr Mann apologised for not addressing matters sooner concerning the town council’s finances during his time as the town council leader and he urged those who may still have concerns to read the report while he welcomes any questions from residents.

He added that Staveley’s previous council tax bill settings for residents were influenced by inflation rates and ‘not one penny was added to the council tax to cover the loan’.

Cllr Mann has previously stated when he became leader in 2019 he had no idea of the severity of the council’s debt, and he had held the previous controlling Labour group largely responsible, and the Liberal Democrat Cllr Paul Jacobs had held Labour and the Independents responsible.

And the Labour Group which narrowly took control at the council after the May, 2023 elections, had blamed careless overspending by Cllr Mann and the Community Independent Group for the situation.

However, following the Board’s report, Staveley Town Council chairperson Elaine Tidd said the council is determined to put its past difficulties behind them and re-establish an organisational credibility and confidence.

At the time of the release of the Improvement Board’s report in November, 2023, Staveley Town Council’s political make-up was six Labour councillors, five Liberal Democrats, five Community Independents, and one Independent following the May 2023 elections.

However, Labour Staveley Town Cllr Debbie Wheeldon has since resigned her seat and a by-election is expected soon for the vacant Duckmanton ward.

An Improvement Board spokesperson stated in the board’s report: “Following the 2023/24 election the town council is experiencing a situation where there is no one party or group in overall control, and councillors have to work together to transact the council’s business.”