Conwy County Borough Council are facing a major financial black hole next financial year.
I understand that they need to find as much as £23million.
When considering the dire financial strait it is essential that every single penny of tax payers money is spent carefully.
Unfortunately, that is not currently the case.
Last week I unearthed that the Local Authority has spent £296,272.98 on legal advice in relation to the lease for its HGV depot in Mochdre.
The contract for the not-fit-for-purpose building started in May 2016, meaning the Authority has, to date, spent around £2million on rent, costing taxpayers around £20,000 a month.
Despite the hundreds of thousands spent on legal advice, the Council remains locked into a contract for the multi-million-pound HGV depot until at least 2031.
The situation is a disgrace!
As I have said before, in business, such a catastrophic spend as this would lead to those accountable being held responsible. Why should it be any different in the public sector?
I have also discovered last week that £3,500 has been spent on utility bills for the HGV depot that has, 8 years on, still not been in use for its intended purpose.
You can be sure that I am holding the Local Authority to account, and have raised this case on numerous occasions with the Wales Audit Office.
I have reported other examples of what seem to be poor management of tax payers money too.
In Llanrwst over £160,000 has been spent on the new spaceship like public toilets in Gwydir Park, which are still not fully operational.
The project, when completed, should provide three toilets and one shower. It has cost at least £133,000 on the new build, £6,000 on the demolition of the old block, and £21,000 on hiring portable toilets alone, of which, the disabled one was left inaccessible for wheelchair users for weeks!
In Craig-y-Don around £250,000 was spent on refurbishing the paddling pool, which seems an astronomical amount.
When considering the cases from Mochdre, Llanrwst, and Craig-y-Don, it seems clear to me that there is a pattern of poor contract management by the Local Authority.
Lessons must be learnt, and steps taken to ensure that such waste does not occur again. This is particularly true when in the last two years we have seen an almost 20% council tax increase.
Should you have any examples of inefficient use of taxpayers money, or any question, please contact me on 01492 871198 or [email protected]
