Councillors in Lichfield and Burntwood have been told to show more commitment after a report revealed that five had not attended half of the meetings held.
New Labour group leader Cllr Sue Woodward said too many representatives had been “going along for the ride”.
Her comments came after a report from an independent remuneration panel revealed that the there were five councillors who had attended less than half of meetings, while a further six had attended less than 75 per cent.
With the number of representatives on Lichfield District Council falling to 47 after a pre-election review, Cllr Woodward says local residents cannot afford to have people who aren’t pulling their weight.
“Unfortunately, too many members were sitting back for the ride,” she said. “That can’t happen anymore now we’re a smaller council with just 47 members.
“Too many members were not turning up for meetings, too many were only turning up for part of the meeting and too many were leaving before crucial decisions were made.”
Cllr Woodward insisted that new and existing councillors needed to be more aware of the role they play, particularly on scrutiny committees.
“We need to make sure that however many councillors there are in the controlling group, that we encourage them – for the benefit of residents – to scrutinise, challenge and make sure the best decisions are made for the people of the district.
“In the past members were not engaging in debates, but just going along with the party line.
“New members from all parties have got to understand that scrutiny is not about opposition, it’s about making sure we make the best decisions collectively across the council.
“Hopefully some new members will be independent and open-minded enough to really take on the challenge.
“At an induction day at Lichfield District Council for councillors last week, I said that if my group were in control I’d want scrutiny to work for the benefit of the cabinet, the decisions they make and the people across the district.
“I have to say that Conservative leader Mike Wilcox and senior members of his group are all anxious to get better and far more effective scrutiny. But that means we need to improve engagement, attendance and willingness of all councillors to do the job that they’ve been elected to do rather than taking the night off.”
The remuneration panel has suggested examining a scheme were parts of a councillor’s allowance could be withheld if their attendance is poor.
The report suggested such as scheme could offer “better value” for taxpayers.
But Cllr Woodward said that the key was councillors engaging with the issues that impact on their residents.
“It isn’t just attendance,” she said. “It’s not doing the job properly by taking time to read papers, ask questions and do background research.
“In the past, too many people have shown no curiosity whatsoever.
“One of the great things about being a councillor is to have the licence to be curious as you can on behalf of the electorate and find out why decisions are being made, what the evidence is for them and what the reasoning is.
“Hopeful new councillors will want to do their job as thoroughly as possible.”
