14 August 2012 Last updated at 07:55 ET

Herefordshire Council rules out £95,000 recruitment fee

Herefordshire Council has ruled out spending £95,000 on recruiting a new chief executive.

The current chief executive, Chris Bull, announced in July he would be leaving his post at the end of October.

A recruitment company had quoted £95,000 to find an external candidate.

Council leader John Jarvis said: "There's no way that we are spending that sort of money in this climate or at anytime on recruitment, it's a farce."

Councillors, who have to vote on new roles with a salary over £100,000, discussed the recruitment process and salary for a new chief executive at a meeting on Monday.

They decided to defer a decision until a cross-party group had been formed to look at alternative council structures, which could include abandoning the post completely.

The delay means that an interim chief executive will take up the position when Mr Bull leaves in October.

Mr Jarvis said: "We've undertaken to talk cross-party on this and that takes time.

"It's really a question of making sure we get the best way of identifying the best solution for Herefordshire."