Morecambe Town Councillors call for comprehensive audit of accounts as concerns are raised over £6,200 cheque

Morecambe Town councillors are calling for a comprehensive audit of accounts after claims that a cheque paid to Morecambe BID for £6,200 in March 2019, had not been properly authorised.

The council has been mired by a spate of resignations in the past 12 months – including two Town Clerks - amid allegations by opposition councillors that some financial dealings by the leading Morecambe Bay Independent (MBI) group had not been properly authorised by the full council.

The money was given to Morecambe BID to help pay for planters along Morecambe Prom.

The cheque was signed by then leader of the MBIs Coun Tricia Health, and MBI colleague Coun Roger Dennison.

Documents show that the councillors had originally denied signing the cheque.

Coun Heath is also a member of Morecambe BID and chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Lancaster City Council.

Eight MBIs have so far resigned their membership of the group to become independent councillors.

This week Lib Dem Town Coun Jim Pilling said: “We are attempting to organise an audit of all the council’s dealings with BID and Morecambe Bloomers for the financial year 2018-19, which covers the issue, but the MBI group are unwilling to agree to this.”

He added: “We believe that these matters should be fully investigated in order to give our taxpayers confidence in how the council is handling their money.

“This council should embrace an open, honest and transparent dialogue with their residents.”

Coun Roger Cleet, who also resigned from the MBI group has added his own voice to calls for a comprehensive audit.

Coun Cary Matthews, leader of the MBI group, said the council had agreed to a further audit of the accounts for 2018/19, however there is some debate over the type of audit that is required.

She said: “The MBI group will do all possible to facilitate the audit and fully co-operate with all enquiries that may be raised there-under.”

John O’Neill, manager of Morecambe BID, said the £6,200 cheque comprised of £3,500 plus VAT for the planters, with the rest being made up of an annual marketing contribution.

He said: “It was discussed at the January 2019 BID Committee meeting that we install a series of planters down the Promenade.

“At the meeting it was discussed that we would approach Morecambe Town Council to go 50/50 in the cost of the planters etc.

"This was agreed unanimously.

"BID took the decision to the Town Clerk at the time to look after the formalities from the council’s end. We got a decision back from the Town Clerk that it was okay to go ahead.

“We subsequently installed and invoiced the council as per our understanding that it was a joint venture. To BID it was a standard matter as we partner with other organisations on different programmes.”

The Town Clerk at the time was David Croxall, who resigned in November 2019.

His successor was Bob Bailey, who announced his resignation this week.

Coun Tricia Heath and Coun Roger Dennison did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, a decision by the MBIs to move £146,000 funding from a Covid-19 Resilience Fund - set up at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to provide emergency aid to Morecambe residents - to an Environment fund, has also been criticised by opposition councillors.

It was later claimed that the decision at a virtual meeting of the council last week was “null and void” as it didn’t follow correct procedure by not giving 10 days notice in advance of the motion.

Coun Pilling also takes issue with the decision to transfer the money.

It was suggested by Coun Debbie Jenkins at the meeting that a scheme to combat litter in the town - especially on the prom and beaches, involving individuals, schools, businesses and other groups working together - would need an initial £2,000-£2,500 to get it started.

Instead, Coun Pilling said, the MBI group voted in favour of transferring the entire budget from the Covid-19 fund to the Environment budget.

Coun Debbie Jenkins has now resigned as an MBI and as a town councillor.

Coun Pilling said: “This would have the effect that the council would have to turn away worthy causes who wished to apply for emergency funding.

“The MBIs voted this through with opposition councillors being outvoted 11-10.

“This is shameful and ludicrous. You’re supposed to give 10 days notice for a motion at Town Council, so it rules it out.

“They didn’t follow the right procedure so it is null and void.”

Coun Cary Matthews said that £46,000 would be left in the Covid-19 Resilience Fund, and the rest would be transferred to an Environment Fund for an “excellent scheme for the benefit of residents and visitors alike”.

Minutes from the last meeting of Morecambe Town Council on July 2 are yet to be released.

Town Clerk Bob Bailey, who is due to leave his post at the end of July, said: “I deeply regret that I have felt the need to resign and I wish Morecambe Town Council, my successor and, most importantly the Morecambe community, best wishes for what should be a very exciting future.”