Making changes, making savings
13 June 2012
Paul Carter
said:
"Removing chief executive posts is what more and more councils
should be doing. Employment law and contractual obligations mean we
have to pay significant redundancy costs but it will save a fortune
in the long run. Our council is now being guided by officers who
have worked their way up and know what life is like from a Kent
taxpayers’ perspective.
“The highest paid staff in local government are valuable,
experienced people but when savings need to be made I think
taxpayers would rather see cuts to management than to frontline
staff. Kent is putting its faith more and more in the talented
people who actually deliver good, frontline services and
streamlining
management tiers.”
More than £40million has been taken out of Kent County Council’s
staffing budget in the past year – a significant chunk of the
£195million that will be saved in 2011/12 and 2012/13 – as shown in
the draft Statement of Accounts.
Restructuring the senior management of the council, which
provides more than 300 services for Kent’s 1.4million residents,
has saved £1million alone. Without staff reductions of 1,500 posts,
council tax, which has been frozen for the past two years, would
have had to rise by eight percent.
Between 2011 and 2014, the county council will make savings of
£340million.