Reducing number of mayors is saving Cheshire West & Chester Council money

Nov 17 2009 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

THE cost of providing the Lord Mayor’s office has reduced following local government reorganisation.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has saved about £80,000 a year by reducing the number of mayors.

This has been be achieved by abolishing a mayor for Vale Royal. Even the cost of running the office of Lord Mayor of Chester has been reduced, according to a Freedom of Information response.

The office of the Lord Mayor of Chester, which also includes the deputy mayor, cost £183,870 to run under Chester City Council.

While the budget for the office under CWAC is slightly reduced at £179,092.

Only the transport budget, which includes the hire of vehicles from Bentley, has risen from £19,700 to £25,000. Previous Lord Mayors were chauffeured in Jaguars.

The council won’t divulge more details because the agreement is subject to a confidentiality clause.

The mayor and deputy mayor’s allowance total £15,330, officer support is £87,362 and £42,000 is spent on hospitality.

Photography costs have diminished compared with the previous regime, down from almost £3,000 to just £500.But the amount spent on official and courtesy visits has risen from nothing to £,3,000. General costs have more than halved to £1,600.

Current Lord Mayor of Chester is Tory Cllr John Ebo, who represents Hoole and Newton, but there has been concern a councillor from a ward outside Chester could end up holding the title.

Critics argued allowing the Lord Mayor of Chester to represent the wider area of West Cheshire, without seeking the permission of the monarch, is wrong.