The controlling Conservative group at Lichfield District Council has been accused of trying to kick changes to the civic budget into the long grass.
A task group was set up in June 2015 to examine issues, such as a chauffeur-driven luxury Jaguar for use by the local authority’s chairman.
As a result, a number of recommendations were made including:
- The introduction of a scoring matrix to decide which civic functions should be attended
- The leased chauffeur driven car be axed and replaced with a local vehicle provider
- The overall number of civic engagements attended be reduced to 50
But the report has yet to come before either the full council or the Cabinet.
Labour opposition group leader, Cllr Sue Woodward, has accused the Conservatives of deliberately stalling the reforms.
“The task group started its work last June and went through lots of information and reported on our findings and recommendations several months ago,” she said.
“Yet the Cabinet have deferred a decision time after time. Now they seem to have kicked the whole thing into the long grass.
“If they can’t make a decision on this relatively small spend – but which does resonate so much with council tax payers – it doesn’t bode well for the tough decisions coming up which are inevitable if the council is going to balance its books.”
Councillor Mike Wilcox, Leader of Lichfield District Council, said the report of the committee would be debated as soon as possible.
“I am considering the proposals of the task Group and will bring forward proposals on the civic function, and its budget, in the near future,” he said.
