Cut council’s senior staff and reduce council tax says Town’s Mayor

Richard Evans, Local democracy reporter.

A town’s mayor has called on a county council to slash costs by axing senior positions and 250 other roles.

The mayor of Conwy Town says he wants a council tax reduction facilitated by axing senior positions within Conwy County Council – as well as 250 members of council staff.

Conwy ratepayers are facing a 6.5% council tax increase after the cabinet backed the rise, with the final decision set to go before full council next week.

Conwy County Council blames the “awful financial situation” on the authority routinely receiving a low increase in its annual local government settlement – with the council this year receiving the joint lowest percentage rise in Wales at 4.1%.

At the cabinet meeting at Coed Pella, councillors were told 71.6% of the budget comes from Welsh Government – which leaders say fails to recognise the elderly demographic and high social care needs of the area.

But Conwy Town Council’s mayor Cllr Gary Willetts has criticised the authority, insisting the council instead needs to cut the numbers of staff and, in particular, senior executives.

He is proposing the county council cut 5% of its approximate 5,000 members of staff as well as a number of its most senior roles, including the chief executive position.

Instead, Cllr Willetts wants a cheaper managing director appointed, with the remaining senior staff sharing more responsibility. Conwy County Council currently has eleven heads of service, two strategic heads, and one chief executive.

The chief executive position is paid between £143,553 and £152,212. The two strategic heads are paid between £110,657 and £117,268. The eleven heads of service are paid between £63,996 and £98,679.

Cllr Willetts has served on Conwy Town Council for six years but was also an elected member on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council between 1973 and 2000.

Cllr Willetts claims councils in England have made similar cuts to staff as he’s proposed, which he’d like to see in Conwy County.

Conwy County Council has proposed to make savings of £2.236m from services in the next financial year.

Cllr Willetts claimed: “Councils in Wales, including Conwy, when council tax is being considered, refuse to cut expenditure.

“They only want to increase income and blame the Welsh Government, which there is a point in there, but then the council tax payer has to pick the bill up.”

“What they are refusing to do is make cuts the authorities in England are making.” He said the chief executive role could be cut, and heads of service rules halved. There are currently 13 heads of service below the chief executive in the council.

He added: “There could be a cut of 5% of the rest of the staff. That would reduce the cost quite considerably and therefore reduce the council tax on the council tax payers of Conwy.

“When you look at the salary of the chief executive that would save enough to bring that proposed increase down. The point is you appoint a managing director, but he would be responsible for two or three services in addition to (him/her taking over) the chief executive’s job.

“The days of the chief executive, which came in with the Local Government Act 1972, was a decision that was applicable in 1972. But the world has changed. The world has got tighter, and you can’t pay people in the role of the chief executive just with no departmental responsibility. I’m not attacking the person who holds the post. It’s the post I’m attacking.”

He added: “A lot of people in Deganwy are living in quite large houses in their mature years, and their concern is if they get 4.5% on their state pension, that increase goes all on council tax.

“I’m a pensioner. In the last two years, most if not all, of my state pension increase went into council tax.” A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council responded: “The town councillor’s opinions are noted.”