Runnymede Conservatives Reckless Borough Spending
The Conservative Administration of Runnymede Borough Council, with the support of an Ottershaw Independent Councillor, pushed through an unbudgeted spend of £170K to recruit a second Assistant Chief Executive at the December Corporate Management committee, held on 15th December. This is at a time when the Council's budget is under severe pressure.
We are concerned that the request for the additional spend contained no business case or detailed justification.
Moreover, we feel that it was rushed through ahead of the 2023/24 budget, which is due to be set in January.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Don Whyte, who is a member of the Corporate Management Committee commented that "This is extremely reckless at a time when there are real pressures to cut spending on services and the money could be spent better on supporting those in need. It feels like this post has been created on a whim without it being fully costed out"