Bernarde Bell, a Technical Accountant with the Corporate Finance Team, discusses his nomination and the key to a Sefton career lasting over three decades...
You can see Bernarde in our video highlighting nominees:
Thanks for talking to us, Bernarde. Could you tell us a bit more about what you do for Sefton Council?
I’m the local authority’s lead on external funding – that's the Revenue Support Grant, Business Rates retention, settlement funds and assessments, and the New Homes Bonus. I’m also the lead on collection fund accounting – so that’s our two biggest income streams, Council Tax and Business Rates.
This year, the biggest project I’ve been involved with is responding to the Fair Funding Review consultations, of which there’s been three.
The government issued a Consultation Paper in December on the principles they were going to use to review funding, and then in April, they issued another Consultation Paper on Business Rate retention and ‘re-setting the baseline’. In June, they issued a more detailed paper on Fair Funding Review, looking at how they measure relative needs and resources.
That’s one busy year! It must be nice that all your input has been recognised.
It’s really nice to be recognised for the work that I’ve done. It’s been a difficult year this year, actually. My father died on Christmas Day last year, and so it was a difficult lead into January – and then having the Consultation Paper to respond to, plus the other two papers that followed on, both at the same time that I was doing the closedown of accounts and dealing with the auditors.
So, you know, it’s been a tough year and a lot of work – so it’s nice that my colleagues have recognised that!
Speaking of colleagues, who has been a big help to you during the year?
I couldn’t do my job without the support of my colleagues – not just within my own team, but also within the Revenues team, which I do a lot of work with.
So that’s Diane Turner, Jennifer Hamilton, Danny Doyle, Tony Wafer, Andy Jennings, Joanne Lennon, Tony Taylor – without those guys doing their job, I wouldn’t be able to close the Collection Fund down, I wouldn’t be able to do my Business Rate monitoring...they’re fundamental to my success in doing my job.
The people on my own team – Graham Hussey, Sharon Garner, Sylvie Kerry, who support me in doing the Collection Fund. And, of course, my manager Mark Bevan, who’s been really supportive this year. Plus Paul Reilly, who’s been supportive to me over the past 20 years! He’s a great guy to work with.
Clearly, a lot of people have made an impression on you. Would you say they’re the best thing about working here?
I always tell people from outside that it’s flexi time!
But that's just a joke, it’s actually my colleagues. I just love working with my colleagues. My career has lasted 35 years in Sefton. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t have survived that without the help and support of my colleagues. I’ve made a lot of good friends here as well while I’ve been working – I class a lot of my colleagues as friends.
I think that’s the best thing; the support they’ve provided me with, and the friendship.