PETERSFIELD Town Council was further shocked this week with the announcement that town clerk Barbara Macken has handed in her resignation. Mrs Macken told The Herald this week: "I have chosen not to work for this council any more." Her departure from the town hall is the latest blow for the council, where a bitter feud has been raging between officers and councillors for nearly a year. Last month Unison trade union regional organiser Mike Wilson, who is representing officers, warned that they believed councillors were making their positions "almost untenable and their jobs almost impossible". He told members of the town council that if there was a complete breakdown of relations, officers would have no alternative but to take legal action. His warnings followed the resignation of Julie Butler, the councillor who chaired the staff panel and was working to find a solution to the problem. The council has been dogged by confrontation for several months. It began with a collective officer grievance against one of the councillors, which was heard behind closed doors in February. At a full meeting of councillors they decided they were not prepared to judge the councillor and did not uphold or reject the grievance. Instead, they drew up a set of recommendations designed to help make relationships harmonious. Later, the then mayor, Brian Dutton, received a complaint against the town clerk and her deputy Sue McMorran from the chairman of the grounds committee, Chris Jenner. But this was later withdrawn and both sides apologised. In May Tory councillor Aaron Baird announced he was not standing for any committees on the new council. He said he only wanted to serve on the staff panel to unravel what he called "the gigantic mess." It has since emerged that no fewer than five town councillors have been under investigation by the Standards Board. The Herald believes that the Standards Board has recently produced its report on the complaints, but these have not yet been made public. This week town mayor Vaughan Clarke told The Herald: "She will be a sad loss to the council. I intend to make a full statement to councillors at their meeting on December 5."
