THE fallout from Christine Pointer's forced redundancy from Waverley Borough Council continued this week, with claims that the council has placed itself in a vulnerable position. Miss Pointer, who served as chief executive for more than a decade, leaves a vacuum set to be filled by a "top management structure", made up of four departmental directors who will rotate the "head of paid service" function on a bi-monthly basis. With local government restructuring - which could see Waverley merged with neighbouring boroughs Guildford or Woking - looming on the horizon, South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt expressed grave concerns about the move. "With vital local government restructuring about to happen, Waverley desperately needs a strong voice," he said this week. "Christine Pointer was often controversial, but no-one doubted she was a formidable advocate for Waverley. I am very concerned that Waverley has rushed into this restructuring at the worst possible time." Independent councillor Victor Duckett told The Herald: "I do have major concerns that any organisation as large as WBC will not function properly without someone as head of its services. "The recommendation that the four senior officers taking it in turns to do this job is, in my opinion, not constructive and will not result in reasonable continuity." Mr Duckett, who voted for Miss Pointer's removal, claims that the decision to oust her was a financial one. "The reason the Liberal Democrats did it was because they made a manifesto promise to reduce staff costs. They managed to reduce some posts, but I'm of the opinion that the chief executive was a major earner and that would result in the most savings," he said. The suggestion follows claims made by Conservative leader Richard Gates that the "shambolic" decision would "lead to nothing more than chaos and confusion".
