COLUMN - Political View with Councillor Sarah Cox (Labour)
As a first time councillor the quickest frustration and challenge I faced was finding out who was responsible for what and getting someone to take ownership within our two-tiered council system.
That frustration remains and those residents in Dorian Ward will be fully aware over the challenges I face getting hedges cut and pathways cleared.
If I face these challenges as a councillor how on earth do residents navigate or understand who deals with what?
As the government pause Local Government Reorganisation this is an opportunity to reflect locally on roles and responsibilities and what our community want from their council.
Unlike many locally, I supported the restructure as I had seen the benefit of police forces working together during change programmes I worked on within the police service.
Reducing duplication of strategic roles frees funding for services.
Bringing that principle to local government there is a real opportunity, if handled right, for funding to be released for supporting local services.
Local government reorganisation offers us the opportunity to ensure that the new structure provides the local community with those services they value in a cost effective way, and to the high standards we expect, without taxpayers funding duplication across the districts.
The community and staff need to be involved in the new design, not something that is given to us as a ‘top down’ solution.
From my experience of working within numerous change programmes over the period of austerity, those is positions of power do not design themselves out of a job.
This then brings me on to the role of local councillors.
Our role now is to ensure that we listen to all residents, no matter where they sit on the political spectrum, and we work together to deliver a new design so the local services you want remain local.
Melton Borough Council is a major local employer and our town cannot lose more employment opportunities to ‘out of town’ as this would impact on other local businesses, such as shops and cafes.
The focus of the local Labour group will be good services, supporting staff and offering value for money.