Liberal Democrat Group Leader Carol Runciman has announced that two cabinet posts will be cut as part of the Liberal Democrat plans for the City of York Council’s budget, to be debated on Thursday 23rd February.

The posts, which are held by Labour Councillors, come with an additional allowance of £14,700 on top of the standard allowance given to all Councillors.

Cllr Runciman says that in these difficult times, there should be less members of the cabinet. It is right given changes within the council organisation that these now be trimmed down to size. She said “When Labour took control of the Council in May last year they immediately added an additional cabinet member to give one of their own councillors more pay. We were opposed to that move.”

Liberal Democrats are now proposing that the Council should cut not only the taxpayer-funded cabinet allowance that Labour added, but another cabinet post too. This latest proposal from the Liberal Democrat Group on the City of York Council is just one of a raft of proposals being announced and set to be debated at the Budget Council meeting on Thursday.

Councillor Runciman said “The council has been going through an internal reorganisation which has seen the number of departments whittled down. We think it is only right that the number of cabinet members paid extra out of the public purse are dealt with in the same way. When we are reforming the council, it’s only right we reform the cabinet too.”