Purpose

This report proposes that the S151 officer,
Dacorum’s Chief Finance Officer, is shared with Watford
Borough Council; with a split of 60% of his time at Dacorum Borough
Council and 40% at Watford. The proposals are designed to support
efficiency in delivery of S151 duties across both organisations,
deliver benefits of shared learning and good practice, make more
efficient use of senior financial resource in support of Local
Government Reorganisation (LGR), and deliver financial
savings.

Decision

1. Agree to allocate 40% of the Dacorum S151
officer’s time to Watford Borough Council. To come into
effect once Watford Borough Council have formally approved the
appointment (anticipated end of January 2025), and a Shared Service
Agreement is subsequently signed by the Chief Executives of Dacorum
Borough Council and Watford Borough Council.
2. Make arrangements internally for backfilling of the 40% of the
S151’s role by the Deputy S151, Head of Financial Services at
Dacorum. Internal arrangements to adjust the S151 officer role and
other internal governance arrangements to accommodate these changes
to be agreed by the Strategic Director of Corporate, Commercial and
Transformation with the Chief Executive.
3. Agree to review the new arrangements 12 months after they take
effect, which will be included within the Shared Service
Agreement.
4. Agree to additional responsibility payments to reflect the
increased responsibility of the S151 and Deputy S151 roles.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 -
Option 2 -
Option 3 -