MIKE Charles has resigned as a Malvern town councillor – just months after his call for Malvern Town Council to undergo a major financial review was refused.
Mr Charles, who represented the Dyson Perrins ward, has been on Malvern Town Council for more than 20 years.
In September last year, Mr Charles made Observer headlines when he called for the council’s whole operations to be reviewed following the resignation of the council’s then-events co-ordinator.
But his calls, which were backed by county councillor Paul Tuthill, were refused at a full council meeting.
In a 900-word letter to his constituents, Mr Charles cited a number of reasons for his resignation including the controversial increase to town clerk Linda Blake’s salary last year and the sacking of previous town clerk Richard Chapman – a decision Mr Charles said made the council a ‘laughing stock’.
He said: “Over the last couple of years I have seen a number of decisions taken by the town council that in my opinion have been detrimental to the lives and well being of local people.
“Symptomatic of such flawed judgement has been the recent decision to award the town clerk a whopping pay rise, when others in most other walks of life have to stumble on in a country in the grip of austerity!
“Local people have paid a heavy price for this arrogance, best illustrated by the total fiasco that was the tribunal case concerning Richard Chapman – a case that hit the headlines nationally and made Malvern a laughing stock.
“Unfortunately as things stand I feel that the powers that be are deaf to my concerns. As a consequence I no longer wish to be associated with this council and have therefore resigned.”
Malvern Town Council defended the increase to the town clerk’s and other staff members pay saying it was a ‘long overdue’ process, as none of the town council’s administrative roles had been reviewed for more than five years.
In response to Mr Charles’ comments, Malvern Mayor Cynthia Palmer and Deputy Mayor Hannah Campbell said:
“We are sorry that Mike Charles has chosen to resign as a councillor.
“All decisions made by the council are made democratically by town councillors. With regards to the personal opinions that he has expressed, Malvern Town Council do not agree with their content.”
Steps are being taken by the town council to replace him, with the possibility of a by-election taking place in the coming weeks.
Town clerk Linda Blake has written to all fellow councillors informing them of Mr Charles’s resignation.
The letter, given to the Observer, reads: “As is usual, an advert will be placed in local newspapers to advertise the vacancy within the next couple of weeks and electors from Dyson Perrins Ward will then have an opportunity to call a by-election should they wish.
“If no by-election is called then the vacancy will be filled by co-option.”
