Shropshire Council Cabinet members must now take the rap for poor services in Shropshire. We can no longer allow our portfolio holders to take money for nothing. Four years and £46,000 later our highways services are no better and in some ways much worse. Under that watch, we also saw £1,000 spent a day on a consultant. Shropshire residents money is paid to all those in the Cabinet to do a job for us. The buck stops with them and heads should roll if they don’t deliver.
What should we Council tax payers expect?
Roger Evans, Leader of the Opposition (Liberal Democrat) group said “ Efficient delivery of our services is a starting point for the extra pay. The Highways portfolio holder in the last Council was paid good money to deliver pothole after pothole, many causing expensive damage to cars with few being able to claim against the Council. Poor drainage, flooding and wasteful tarmac shoved in potholes full of water. This new portfolio holder will now be earning £18,000 to do this. We will expect good roads, reduced blocked drains and flooding and Kier working efficiently.”
I will be really interested to see where the trumpeted ‘new’ £40 million for Highways will be found from and the Liberal Democrats will be watching to make sure its spent well – if it materialises!.”
The Planning Chairs have had a rise to a £18,000 total. The least we should expect is consistent and balanced decisions alongside Planning Policy delivering for local people, local needs energy efficient housing being the requirement for the people who live here,(the extra allowance for planning Policy is £12,000). We need more affordable and smaller housing so that our teachers, carers, police, nurses and all our essential workers can afford to live here, in the areas they work”. Added deputy leader, Cllr Heather Kidd.
Heather continued “ All the Scrutiny Chairs should be working for their £12,000 and improving decisions made by the Administration. They must now deliver for us all and not just for certain towns, and certain groups of people. We all deserve better. This administration really must not be more of the same diminishing returns for us all”.