The ongoing row between elected members of Mayo County Council and the chief executive of the organisation over the roles of senior management looks to have been solved. At the May monthly meeting of the local authority there had been an item placed on the agenda to call for a special meeting of the council to be held to discuss the concerns of the council.
The elected members of the council had been looking for assurances that each of the four municipal districts in the county would have one of the directors of services who head up the council's management team retained to head up each of the four municipal districts. Chief executive of Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes, had initially proposed that the director of services would no longer head up each municipal district, with a new municipal district manager put in place. This idea angered a large majority of the councillors and there has been a long running debate between the elected members and the chief executive which has played out over a number of council meetings.
The issue came to a head in recent weeks, with elected members holding a meeting among themselves a fortnight ago, and a letter being signed and submitted by 20 councillors to the Cathaoirleach of the council, Cllr Michael Holmes, calling for a special meeting of the council to be held to discuss the issue. A number of councillors met the chief executive last Tuesday, May 3, about the the impasse that was developing but there was no resolution at the time, the issue was further escalated last Thursday, when the members of the Castlebar Municipal District refused to hold their monthly meeting because of the lack of progress. However, over last weekend a compromise was reached following more meetings.
The deal has ensured that each of the four municipal districts will retain a director of services to oversee its running and they will attend the relevant district's monthly meetings, the process will be reviewed over time and if changes are needed they will be made. There will be some changes to the deal in the near future with current director of services Paddy Mahon leaving Mayo County Council to take up a new position as chief executive of Longford County County Council in the coming months, leaving a vacancy that will have to be filled in the director of services position in the council's management team.
