Report your potholes to £229,999 a year Kent Chief Exec! (South East Region Liberal Democrats)

South East Region Liberal Democrats <info@southeastlibdems.org.uk>

Report your potholes to £229,999 a year Kent Chief Exec!

September 30, 2008 8:53 AM

Residents in Kent have been told to report their potholes and other road related issues to the Kent County Council Chief Executive. This comes after four of the most senior officials in the council's environment and regeneration directorate have left - the department which covers Highways. Reportedly the highest paid County chief executive, Peter Gilroy, has said that he had taken charge of the environment directorate on a temporary basis - and would be dealing with any complaints from residents about roads.

Interim appointments to four posts are not expected to be completed for at least two weeks. Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Trudy Dean said any other organisation that had lost so many senior officers from a single department would be described as "being in freefall".

"I have a grave concern over the continuation of highways services. That is the service people complain about most and it is the one department which has no people in the top six positions. We are looking at up to six months before these are filled permanently," she said.

Conservative KCC deputy leader Cllr Alex King said the council was moving to deal with the vacancies at the same time as looking at re-organising the highways department, raising concerns over more tax payers money being wasted - recent figures show £17.8 already wasted by Conservative run KCC on relocating the Highways department.