Town Council paid £900 for job advert

A town councillor was fuming to discover that nearly £900 of Welshpool tax payers' money had been spent to advertise the vacant town clerk position in the local newspaper, when it could have been done for £40 with MyWelshpool.

Councillor Phil Pritchard, speaking at the latest Town Council meeting held over Zoom, said during the review of accounts that he wanted to highlight that the £898.90 paid to Newsquest was for the advert to appear in two editions of the local weekly newspaper.

“You need to note that the same thing can be got very, very cheaper, for £40 a time digitally with other media (MyWelshpool).”

Cllr Pritchard first pointed out the payment during the discussion for replacing two councillors who had recently resigned, including Cllr Nicola Morris.

“Leave it to next May,” he suggested. “The advert in the County Times cost us nearly £1,000 so we can’t afford it!”

Councillors agreed, and decided to hold the elections for the two vacant seats alongside the Welsh Government elections next May.

Meanwhile, the vacant Town Clerk position has been filled by the experienced interim clerk, Anne Wilson.