WELL, we now have proof positive that what councillors agreed at a meeting was not what was enacted consequently.
At the June meeting of Malvern Hills District Council, in recommending sharing a chief executive with Wychavon District Council, the deputy leader, Cllr Swinburn, assured councillors that there was no proposal to share a senior management team.
He rounded on opposition councillors for upsetting staff with such "scaremongering" and said the only proposal on the table was one of sharing a chief executive with Wychavon and appointing a deputy.
That was the premise on which councillors voted and that was what they agreed.
However, the council's application for government funding for the move says: "The second part of our bid is for a further £200,000 to cover severance costs of other senior managers during 2014/15 as we move towards a single management team."
So, either Cllr Swinburn deliberately and knowingly lied, or he deliberately and knowingly allowed a bid to go forward that did not reflect the decision of council.
Either way, what councillors agreed is not what they – and we – are going to get.
So much for democracy!
Caroline Carver
Malvern
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