Serious concerns over the running of the Southern Civic Amenity Site have prompted the local authorities in Malew and Port Erin to threaten to withdraw from the operation.

The site is run by a board comprising representatives from six southern authorities.

Malew and Port Erin combined contribute half of local authority’s finances. It is administered by Port St Mary Commissioners’ office and clerk Alastair Hamilton.

Issues over aspects of how the site is run led to letters from Malew Commissioners’ clerk Barry Powell to Department of Infrastructure’s Stephen Willoughby at the legislation and policy unit.

Mr Powell said he had written previously ’expressing his board’s concern over the administration of the centre and Port St Mary Commissioners as administrators’.

He wrote: ’There have been a number of incidences of great concern particularly relating to the lack of adherence to standing orders (the rules governing the running of the board).’

For example, an advert for expressions of interest for operating transportation of the skips appeared once not twice, as standing orders dictate. The decision was made to rerun the tender process ’partly due to a recently discovered conflict of interest for the clerk’.

disregard

Mr Powell wrote: ’Malew Commissioners find it difficult to continue to fund and be a party to such a board that has a flagrant disregard to policy and procedures. This is just the latest incident in a long history of breaches’.

Others include lack of consultation over the budget, false claims compost is organic, ignorance over standing orders relating to opening times changes and hastily-arranged meetings with last-minute documents.

Mr Powell asked for the DoI’s intervention to ensure compliance with standing orders or the authority might withhold further financial contributions and withdraw from SCAS.

Port Erin Commissioners’ clerk Jason Roberts wrote that the authority had ’major concerns’ .

The authority paid more than £59,000 to fund the SCAS and expected it to be managed ’stringently’. Port Erin Commissioners were ’shocked’ by the ’lack of adherence’ and asked for ’urgent’ intervention.

They also queried the conduct of former chairman Alan Grace, who stepped down in May, for his ’raised voices and shouting down members’.

Port Erin’s contribution rose by 16.5% from £50,674 to £59,044 this year. Mr Roberts wrote the authority was ’struggling to justify its continued support of a board’.

In response, Port St Mary’s clerk, Alastair Hamilton, who administers the site, said that uncertainty due to a late decision regarding waste disposal charges at the energy from waste plant ’had major implications for our budget’.

Human error of an administrator meant the skip contract advert ran for one week. The process would be rerun.

behaviour

Regarding behaviour in meetings, he said ’passionate discussions’ led to behaviour ’that may seem questionable in a board room setting’.

SCAS board chairman Jerry Ludford-Brooks has now written to the DoI’s Stephen Willoughby giving ’assurances’ the board will adhere to all statutory, financial, corporate governance and standing orders requirements.

The SCAS board had instructed the clerk that he must correctly follow all procedures in future, he added.

He wrote reassuring authorities the SCAS ’will act appropriately and seek to obtain value for money, whilst providing an effective and efficient service’.

At a recent SCAS board meeting, a press release about the site’s success of composting was discussed.

In it, Mr Ludford-Brooks is quoted as saying: ’Our compost is regularly tested at Chester Laboratories and is proven to be both high in nutrient value and free of any unwanted contaminants.’

The board agreed the release had misleading statements in it and resolved not to issue any statement without the board’s approval.

Members also made a commitment to do regular testing and monitor the compost and will ask Colas at Billown whether the authority could do that cheaper than the Chester laboratory.