By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter
The new chief executive of Powys County Council will be starting in February.
Powys County Council say that Dr Caroline Turner will take over the helm on 25 February.
Acting chief executive, Dr Mohammed Mehmet said: “We look forward to welcoming Caroline to Powys in February.
“She will be arriving in the county at a crucial time when the council is working hard to set a balance budget for the coming financial year.”
A fluent Welsh speaker, with more than 25 years’ experience in local government and the civil service in Wales, she is currently assistant chief executive of Anglesey County Council.
And she could be forgiven for turning around and driving back to the idyllic island as she will be faced with numerous problems when she arrives.
The ruling Independent/Conservative group will be looking to get through a budget that could see a 12 per cent hike in the Council Tax to plug a gap of £14 million next year.
More cuts in council services and plans to axe up to 50 jobs will be under discussion when she arrives
Just after she starts on 1 March the new shake-up of senior management takes place.
Eight senior council posts, including head of education and deputy chief executive are due to be axed in a bid to save £1.3 million
By February the contents of the recent inspection of Children’s Services should also be known.
The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) published a highly critical report into the department in October 2017.
Money has been pumped into the department and an Improvement and Assurance Board has been set up to help the process.
