THE AGENDA for Thursday’s full council meeting recommends the exclusion of the public and press and cessation of webcasting during the crucial debate over the embattled Chief Executive Officer Bryn Parry- Jones’s future. East Williamston representative, Councillor Jacob Williams, has told the Herald that he is “very unhappy but not in the slightest surprised” that the agenda for Thursday’s full council meeting to debate a possible pay-off for CEO-in-exile, Bryn Parry-Jones, is recommend to be held out of the public gaze, but said “the decision to exclude the public is ultimately a decision for councillors to vote on, so if a majority of councillors vote to refuse to go into private, the meeting and webcam will carry on as usual.”

Cllr Williams is also disappointed that the proposed settlement due to be voted on at the full council meeting is to be “sprung on councillors” on the day, with no details planned to be released until then. He told the Herald: “Days before the agenda was published I spoke to the leader of the council, Cllr Jamie Adams, telling him how important it was for councillors to be given plenty of time to consider the golden handshake he struck with the Chief Executive and that he wants full council to approve. I told him that whether councillors are minded to support or refuse a pay-off wasn’t the point, at that stage I just wanted to make it clear that I could foresee they were going to pull their usual trick of springing it on us on the day, and that’s exactly what it looks like their plan is.”

Furthermore, before the agenda was published, in a last ditch effort Cllr Williams sent an email to Cllr Adams, into which he copied all other councillors, to try to prevent details of the settlement from being sprung on councillors during the meeting. We reproduce the email he sent to Cllr Adams alongside: When contacted by our reporter, Cllr Williams concluded: “The agenda says that the details and conditions of the proposed pay-off settlement reached between Cllr Adams and Bryn Parry-Jones is to be “tabled during the meeting” – it doesn’t even say “circulated to councillors on separate sheets of paper during the meeting” so it is possible we may never get to see anything on paper. Nothing should surprise you about this council, but the powers at be – whoever they are – have still got plenty of time next week to release it to councillors on a confidential basis, just so we have time to consider it ahead of the meeting. Whether councillors support the golden handshake or not, is entirely up to them and their conscience.”

Dear Cllr. Adams,
You will recall that we spoke briefly on Tuesday about the full council meeting next
Thursday where the prospective settlement offer that you have reached with the Chief
Executive will be debated and voted upon.
For the benefit of other councillors who I have copied into this email, all I discussed
with the leader was the importance, in my opinion, that councillors have enough time
to consider this key proposal, and not the content of the settlement itself.
You suggested that the details of the tentative deal may be given to councillors on the
morning of the meeting with a short adjournment for us to consider the offer.
This is exactly what I suggested should be avoided, and why I raised the matter with you
on Tuesday. I write again to reinforce my view. Please could you ensure that councillors
have enough time to consider this very important proposal ahead of the meeting. It will
not be fair to spring it on us. I hope you now agree. I would welcome the views of other
councillors too.
Regards,
Jacob.