WHEN you pay your rates bill each year or drive past Beech Hurst do you ever wonder if Test Valley Borough Council represents value for money?
The chief executive and deputy chief executive cost ratepayers over £250,000 per annum, the mayor costs over £100,000 per annum and they spend a staggering £130,000 per annum on the powerless town council.
On top of all this they’re in the process of purchasing the Old Magistrates Court because they feel they need more space.
Value for money or simply building an empire?
What this town needs is investment – investment in a modern parking system, barrier operated and computer controlled.
We need to invest in the car park at the train station, giving it a second tier in the same way that Farnborough and Fleet have done.
Above all we need scrutiny in Test Valley Borough Council, which simply hasn’t been provided for years.
I must say after reading Katherine Bird’s recent letter about the town centre I was left more determined than ever to change the regime next May.
Cllr Tony Hooke
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