Skegness Magazine

Day one of the new Conservative-led administration at East Lindsey District Council was a bad one for local council taxpayers, according to Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Fiona Martin. 

“Their first decision was to increase the number of Deputy Leaders of the council from one to two and then they voted to increase the number of members of the Executive Board,” said Councillor Martin.

“Both those decisions will increase by thousands of pounds the amount of taxpayers’ money being spent on councillors’ special allowances and also on bureaucracy and are not in accordance with the council’s already agreed budgets for the current year,” she said.

Challenged by Cllr Martin at the council’s annual meeting on Wednesday to say where the extra money would be coming from, one of the new Deputy Leaders, Councillor Jeremy Webb, claimed it would come from savings made because of the delay in starting the Louth leisure development in Wood Lane.

But Councillor Martin was quick to point out that, previously, Councillor Webb and his colleagues had previously inferred the Wood Lane delay would actually cost the council money rather than result in savings.

“The people of East Lindsey are entitled to know where the money is coming from to fund the new Conservative-led bureaucracy at ELDC and what services will be cut as a result,” Councillor Martin added.