FROME Town Council has voted in its first Leader of the Council, a position created to help with the running of the town.
Cllr Mel Usher was officially voted into the role at a full Frome Town Council meeting on Wednesday 7th of December.
The role was created to relieve pressure from the Mayor of Frome, cllr Nick White. With the publication of the Localism Act, the town council will be taking on more services with an increase in negotiations with other tiers of local government. As a result, it was deemed necessary to vote through a member of the council to take on these issues. The council says it will allow the Mayor more time to attend civic duties and make it easier for him to chair council meetings neutrally.
Speaking to Frome Times after the meeting, cllr Usher said, “This is the first time the town council has had a leader. I assume in the past the Mayor has dealt with everything.
“This will look to split the role of the Mayor, so he can be involved with more civic duties. This isn’t about party politics and it’s great to see this supported by the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. It’s necessary with the changes in local government that are coming up.”
Cllr Usher has an extensive background in local politics. He was chief executive of a local authority and has worked for six different authorities across the country.
“As Leader of the Council I’ll be looking to hold the right type of discussions with different groups in the council and represent the council in negotiations,” he explained. “I’ll be talking to leaders from Mendip District Council and Somerset County Council about the Localism Act and how this will affect services in the town.”
Cllr Usher’s position will be an ‘experimental role’ until May of next year.
