TUESDAY EVENING’S FULL COUNCIL MEETING in the Kiln Road Council Chambers was a somewhat surreal affair. Not a single member was absent, and the Canvey Island Independent Party was keen to promote its new image of ‘responsible politicians’ for the Web camera’s public consumption.
Having had its party leader, Dave Blackwell, christened as Pink Sack Man by none other than the Echo – and to have been admonished in that same newspaper for having all its members walk out of the Council meeting called to discuss the Borough’s dire financial situation resulting from £1.9 million of government cuts, the CIIP has apparently decided to abandon its standard strategy of grandstanding and fuelling local protests against the majority’s Cabinet - in favour of appearing even more Tory than the ruling Conservatives themselves.
Were we to see the birth of a credible opposition, worrying the Tory proposals to ensure that nothing had been overlooked? Would the financial acumen of the opposition leader hone-in on those areas of the budget which were based on mere supposition? Would any member of the Borough’s opposition ask a single question of the Cabinet’s proposals – or even raise the vexed question of over-generous senior officer remuneration, and whether that situation will continue in the present economic climate?
Nah.
Just as in the preceding Cabinet meeting, it was left to experienced Tory back benchers to hold the executive to account and inject a strong dose of reality.
As Jeff Stanley rose confidently to his feet to deliver the Cabinet’s proposed budget, one could have heard a pin crashing from the public gallery.
Just moments before, Jeff had been delivering a summary of the budget’s contents to Cabinet members; but now he was to flesh-out the detail to Council members.
At the previous meeting he had explained that the £1.5 million set aside for Waterside Farm renovation would be left intact; and that Council rents would increase by an average of £4.07 per week in 2011/12. (The housing budget is ‘ring-fenced’ and the extra revenue can only be used to improve resident accommodation). He also explained how the Borough would be financially rewarded by the Government for freezing Council Tax at its current level: the Council would receive an additional £181,000 for each of the next four years.
At the same meeting, Pam Challis had provided a brief overview of the Council’s planned reorganisation to save further money: producing three ‘new’ departments that would be termed the Housing and Community Service; the Regeneration and Neighbourhood Service; and the Service Support Group – the latter formed with the intention of ‘deep diving’ (filling-in and trouble shooting) other departments.
Although organisational changes will ultimately take more than a single year (as the Council merges many of its services with those of Rochford) the Council’s CEO, David Marchant, had been charged by Cabinet with saving £500,000 from staffing costs during 2011/12. (Pam did not say if Marchant had also been instructed to review his own exorbitant salary – some £20,000 more than the Prime Minister last year - before taking the axe to others on more meagre amounts).
‘Thirty members [out of the 41 Borough Councillors],’ Jeff Stanley reported to Council, ‘made suggestions’ about where the body could save money. (Surprisingly, CIIP representatives, whom had walked out of the first budget meeting in a huff, were equally represented in those figures).
Jeff Stanley went on to say that Council was faced with the task of cutting £1.9 million from its annual £14 million expenditure – amounting to a reduction of 16 per cent in 2011/12 and a further 13 per cent in 2012/13.
It had been expected that the Coalition Government would indicate a settlement for the next four years, which is normally the case; but, because there is to be a permanent change over the next two years of the way in which councils are funded, only figures for those two years had been made available. (The Council is planning for the case that the two ‘missing’ years will each contain further cuts of some five per cent).
Numerous small departmental savings, Jeff said, had been identified as part of the £1 million saving he proposed for 2011/12. Those small amounts he did not announce; but he was quick to point-out that speculation and scare stories, like that of the Castle Point Show being axed, were totally unfounded.
Large savings were to be made as follows:-
- There would be a cash freeze on all Council Departments – worth £124,000.
- The Government’s abolition of the Audit Commission would save a further £36,000.
- Payroll services would be merged with those of Rochford District Council, for a saving of £45,000.
- Neighbourhood budgets would be reduced from £5,000 to £2,000 per ward – saving £42,000.
- The Council’s Viewpoint publication would, in future, be produced just twice a year – for an £18,000 saving.
- £61,000 support for four community officers employed by Essex Police would be withdrawn.
- IT savings would be made worth £28,000.
- The reorganisation of the Council’s Environment and Community Department had already provided savings of £110,000.
- Cash Department offices will be closed and the service transferred to local Post Offices for a saving of £100,000
- And councillors’ remuneration would be cut by 10% (excluding the Mayor).
Together with the other numerous small savings, the total was £1 million – leaving £500,000 to be cut from the reorganisation and staffing review to be conducted by David Marchant.
A further £400,000 (taking the grand total to the required £1.9 million target) would be saved in 2012/13 by combining the Council’s IT operations with those of Rochford.
No questions were asked by the opposition. Dave Blackwell responded to Jeff Stanley’s request for politics to be set aside with the statement that: ‘There will be no politics here tonight.’ His only response was a somewhat rambling request for Full Council to again be consulted when details of the budgets set by the County’s Authorities were known – and his Echo statements, calling for Council Officer pay cuts, were not repeated.
Neville Watson greeted the Tory budget with enthusiasm. ‘I am absolutely delighted with the Budget,’ he said. ‘We have an excellent team.’
Enid Isaacs (Con, Victoria) was particularly pleased that charitable and voluntary sector funding had not been cut. ‘Castle Point,’ she suggested, would be seen as a ‘beacon for the Big Society.’
And Peter May (CIIP, CI Central) virtually fell over himself congratulating staff for all their hard work.
Only Bill Sharp (Con, St James’) was prepared to inject some needed sobriety into the proceedings by addressing those areas that the opposition were prepared to ignore.
Bill pointed-out that more savings would be required in the years ahead and that now was no time for the Council to rest on its laurels. He pointed-out that there were in fact three levels of government in the area (Essex County Council; Castle Point Borough Council; and Canvey Island Town Council) all employing duplicate councillors and officers at considerable expense to the tax-payer. And, looking in the eyes of all those Council Officers congratulated by Peter May, Bill was the only member to suggest that their remuneration should be reduced before any attempt was made to cut-back on the salaries of frontline staff.
But no opposition member was prepared to voice a similar opinion – or back Bill’s comments up.
Along with politics, the CIIP had also canned its minority duty for the night – and again failed to pursue statements eagerly made to the press.
Cabinet’s Budget was passed unanimously and, together with other Tory members, CIIP chameleons made their chosen way home…
CPBC Council Agenda 22 Feb 2011… (CPBC, 08/03/2010) – Castle Point Council Staff Reduction
… (Echo, 18/03/2011) - Council bosses still rake in fat salaries
No comments:
Post a Comment