BOURNEMOUTH council paid £35,000 to a recruitment agency for their help in finding a temporary executive director, it has been revealed.

A Freedom of Information request reveals the council paid £35,250 to the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) for their role in the recruitment of Mike Forrester as a temporary executive director for business information.

Mr Forrester was in the position from November 2009 to the end of March 2012 but his short tenure was shrouded in controversy. He earned £139,720 in 2010/11 – more than the chief executive – and received most of his salary through a one-man company, which allowed him to slash his personal tax bill.

He also oversaw the suspension of chief accountant Stephen Parker for raising concerns about the council’s outsourcing deal with Mouchel and signed off an audit report that highlighted anomalies in his own contract.

The information about the £35,250 “finder’s fee” was released to a group of residents called ‘A Better Bournemouth’. The FOI reply said that former chief executive Pam Donnellan, who is no longer at the council, determined the terms and conditions of Mr Forrester’s remuneration package and sought independent advice and recruitment support from SOLACE.

Geoff Cooper, a spokesperson for A Better Bournemouth, called the fee “extortionate” and added: “This for an appointment which ultimately cost Stephen Parker his 20-year career with Bournemouth, not to mention a confidentiality agreement and the associated pay off. Once again the tax payers of Bournemouth have been taken for a ride.”

He added they had concerns over the council’s use of SOLACE and said all future appointments needed to be totally transparent.

Alan Hyde, Head of Strategic HR, said: “An interim appointment was needed for the then post of Executive Director for Business Improvement in 2009. As is often the case in appointing senior specialist executives the Council decided to use a search and recruitment agency, SOLACE and as a result appointed Mr Forrester. The fees paid are consistent with agency recruitment costs typically charged when filling senior positions of this level.”