Fewer than half of Kingskerswell's parish councillors turned out for what had the potential to be an explosive meeting on Tuesday evening. The fuse had been lit last week when the annual parish meeting descended into chaos amid rows about the manner in which the council conducted its business. Fuelling the heated exchanges had been the question of a 'missing' £2,300 from the council's assets. Chairman, Cllr Norman Cooper, eventually walked out, leaving his chain of office on the table and the evening's business unfinished. He denied he had resigned but refused to comment further. When the meeting reconvened on Tuesday only Cllrs John Hartley, Gill Rawle, Derek Miller and Charlotte Mertens, vice-chairman, were present. Six others sent their apologies, the news generating jeers from some of the 14 residents present. Cllr Mertens said: 'I hope we can get something out of this meeting, keep it nice and friendly.' Turning immediately to the issue of the council's financial management, she said the new clerk, Jackie Lamont, had only been in post for two months and that the previous post holder had 'left the job in dismay, a right mess.' 'We have a problem with our finances,' she said and that she wanted transparency in the way it was handled. Following advice from Devon County Council the former clerk, Patricia Hartley, had been asked to examine the accounts. She confirmed there were 'several discrepancies' but that they appeared to be the result of poor bookkeeping. 'I can assure you this matter is in hand and will be sorted out,' Mrs Hartley told the meeting. Attention then turned to soured relations among councillors. Much was made of the referral of Cllr Hartley to the Standards Board for England and Cllr Cooper's decision to ban him from council meetings. Resident Dennis Bramble said there was 'excessive antagonism in some quarters' and with tears welling in his eyes said: 'Man can be so beastly to a decent bloke.' Neil Kelly said he had heard rumours that the minutes relating to the referral recorded a unanimous vote in favour but that some of the councillors named had not actually been present. 'Yes, that's the case,' said Cllr Mertens. Detailed discussion on the subject was then ruled out on the grounds that the case was ongoing. Other complaints from the public related to the chairman's ability to control a meeting, the council's attempts to take control of the sports pavilion, the recording of questions asked by the public and the trend to discuss items not on the agenda. 'You've got a chairman who's doing things that suit his own agenda, that's not right,' said resident and chairman of the youth group, Drop Zone, Victoria Slaney. With the 18 people present finding themselves in agreement on nearly everything, most notably the need for greater transparency, the meeting drew to a quiet close. Resident Carole Durtson commented: 'This is how a parish council should be. perhaps we should only have four members.' Cllr Miller, who is to stand down from the council in May after 27 years, replied: 'I quite agree.' The parish council is due to meet again on Monday at 7.15pm.
