Newark Town Council budget-setting claims are dismissed by Labour

A Labour councillor has hit back at claims that the chairman of Newark Town Council's finance committee had not seen the authority's budget figures before presenting them for approval.

Diane Ledger told the council meeting she was looking at the figures for the first time.

This sparked a response from Conservative councillor Johno Lee that it was the first time in his political history that a budget was being put forward that wasn't understood.

However, Labour councillor Jane Olson said the finance committee chairman was, in fact, referring to how the figures were presented to council.

She said: "Diane Ledger had indeed worked on the budget that she presented. She was more than familiar with its contents.

"She had attended meetings with group leaders and independent councillors as well as taking part in workshops organised by the Town Clerk, to which only one of the seven Conservative councillors attended.

"Councillor Ledger was diligent in her efforts to understand the workings and detail of the budget, initiating talks with other council members and group leaders to arrive at a budget which would meet with cross party consensus ­— or so she thought.

"The Town Clerk had prepared a detailed document, which was given to each member on arrival. This was a means of visually identifying specific costs and the proposed measures agreed between members beforehand in order that items could be scrutinised more readily and debated properly. This is what Councillor Ledger was referring to when she stated she had not seen the document before this meeting."

Jane Olson said the spotlight should be put on the great work that the council does in maintaining and promoting the town's market and town centre events, the town hall, its museum and art gallery, the cemetery, and green spaces.

She said: "Isn’t it more advantageous to the town that we work together to ensure that these services are maintained and developed moving forward, that the staff are looked after and appropriately rewarded for their services to the community and that we break away from the petty politics of fear all too often perpetuated by the media?"