A mobile customer centre launched by Caerphilly County Borough has cost the local authority £39 in staff costs for each resident using the service.
Now, it is likely to be scrapped as part of budget cuts with the vehicle, which cost £126,418 to buy, set to be sold off for between £30,000 and £40,000.
A council report reveals that between April and July this year around 100 customers a month used the service, mainly to make payments – making the average staff cost to deal with each customer at £39.
The Plaid Cymru group on the council submitted a Freedom of Information Request into the cost of running the vehicle and were told it could be as high as £26,885 from July 2014 to March 2016.
Councillor Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly, said: “Why Labour promised to launch this service, knowing the financial difficulties facing every local authority baffles me. Maybe in an ideal world where there was plenty of money slushing around it could be justified.”
A council spokesperson said, “This is one of a number of savings proposals that are out to public consultation at the moment. No decision will be taken until early next year”.
To think this is in the same week the paper reports councillors want parking charges to boost CCBC coffers. Unbelievable!
Yet more financial mismanagement from a council you wouldn’t trust to run a bath, yet another criminal waste of public funds that will be long forgotten when Wales goes to the polls next May….Selling the vehicle at a loss of £80’000, some bodies head should roll for that one.