These are precarious times for the county. Cheshire East council, created to produce greater benefits for taxpayers, became an empire-building exercise for the leadership.
From its inception executive pay was needlessly elevated to absurd levels simply to demonstrate the council’s importance.
Capable cabinet members were fired for any show of dissent and rapidly replaced by nodding dogs. Not long after the Lyme Green debacle, the chief executive, hired at huge expense and a fanfare of promise, resigned from stress with a substantial pay-off and a gagging order, followed by her acting deputy and the borough solicitor.
The cabinet member for the environment resigned, another officer was suspended (the council leader had already stepped down).
Cheshire East grew into an arrogant monster serving no one but itself. Had it not been for Lyme Green (and the Express) its stunning incompetence would have been suppressed.
So, how do you change a regime steeped in self-preservation and denial? We have seen successive governments promise and fail to reform the civil service. It takes enormous courage to effect culture-change in the public sector. I never thought it would happen within CEC, far easier to obfuscate and shuffle the pack.
I was wrong. It is happening.
Leader Michael Jones is making it happen and deserves our support. Far from improving on the old two-tier system Cheshire East has been an unmitigated disaster.
Cut and paste isn’t going to fix it. We need to start again without the illusions of grandeur harboured by the previous leadership.
There are a lot of good people working for the council whose efforts have been undermined by management incompetence. That management is about to change.
For Coun Jones every waking moment will be a whirlwind of protest and controversy. This is no job for the faint-hearted. He will become the most hated councillor in the town hall surrounded by insecurity and recrimination, but what’s the alternative?
We can’t afford ridiculous salaries for unaccountable managers. That money needs to be spent on frontline staff and services not frittered away on PR, pay-offs and gagging orders.
Restructuring the council is a Herculean task and leader Jones deserves our support. It doesn’t mean we can’t argue our case on green belt development or town centre plans, but on reforming the council there is no viable alternative.
The tail has been wagging the dog for far too long with councillors sidelined and manipulated by arrogant officers who believed they knew best. It’s time for the council to stop sleeping on the job and take control.
They need to consider all those hard-working council employees at the lower end of the pay scale whose morale was seriously damaged by profligacy at the top.
These employees deserve competent management and fair treatment. Let us wish leader Jones success in his endeavours.
