THE role of chief executive officer of the new Somerset West and Taunton council will be up for grabs soon.

The shadow council agreed at a meeting on Monday night (September 10) to recruit a chief officer to 'ensure the success' of the new venture.

Councillors firstly agreed the employment procedure which sets out the role of the shadow executive in advertising the post and drawing a shortlist of potential CEOs.

Cllr Ian Morrell expressed concerns over the talent of any potential candidate.

He said: "My views on the current CEO are well known so I won't go into them.

"I have a few concerns.

"If we have a CEO who is always sick, what provision would we put in place?"

He went on to suggest the council ensure the CEO has key performance indicators (KPIs) in place to enable the role to be monitored.

Leader of the shadow council, John Williams, said: "Cllr Morrell started by suggesting our current CEO has been unavailable, but she's done a first class job."

Cllr Habib Farbahi questioned whether a CEO was necessary in light of the potential unitary authority plans going through to join together the county to the other districts.

Cllr Williams said: "We are going to have a new council and we need to integrate.

"We need someone at the head of that to ensure it is a success."

Cllr Farbahi also asked if incumbent Penny James, who currently earns upwards of £100,000 in her position as CEO for both Taunton Deane and West Somerset councils, would be invited to apply for the role. He expressed concerns this would discourage others from applying for the role.

Cllr Williams did not answer this question.

The role will be advertised late September, with a shortlist drawn up by mid October. Interviews will take place at the end of the month ahead of the announcement in November.