Fife Labour’s Finance Spokesperson has this week called on Fife Council to do more to cut waste. In a letter Mr Hood called on Fife Council’s Chief Executive Ronnie Hinds and senior officers to do more to tackle inefficient working practices in the council and do more to ensure frontline services are protected.
The Lochgelly and Cardenden councillor said ‘at a time when the council are implementing significant cuts in services and increasing charges it is vital that Fifers remain confident that every penny the council has at its disposal is being spent wisely. It is my opinion the council has not gone far enough in modernising its approach to delivering services or addressing inefficient working practices. The result has been a significant increase in the gap between the services the people of Fife require and what the council can deliver in the new budget constraints’
‘We have known for sometime that difficult times were round the corner but despite this the response from the Council has been pedestrian. A lack of political leadership has resulted in some senior managers receiving nearly 25% increase in salary over recent years while failing to develop more innovative cost effective methods of delivering the services Fifer’s require.’
In support of frontline staff the councillor added ‘What makes this worst is that the vast majority of staff working within the council are as frustrated by the inefficient ways of working they are bound by and would relish the opportunity change the way they do things. There is a real opportunity for the council to cut waste, improve staff morale by involving staff in the change and ultimately deliver better services for the people of Fife. All if this is possible if only there was strong political leadership and a less lethargic senior management team’
