ISITFAIR council tax protesters have come out in support of Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber after an attack in last week's Herald calling for his resignation. They say that, despite their opposition to the council tax concept, theirs is a criticism of the system and not a personal attack on Mr Thornber, who they describe as 'a good guy'. Campaigners believe Mr Thornber works hard for the county and that HCC is among the most frugal in the country. Furthermore, because the running of local councils is largely dictated by central Government, it is they and not the likes of Mr Thornber who should be in the dock. Retired financial consultant Frank Wheeler, has a different view. Having secured data, under the Freedom of Information Act, about the use of taxpayers' money, Mr Wheeler has accused Mr Thornber of heading up a "profligate gravy train" for employees. From his response, Mr Thornber implies that Mr Wheeler's is a campaign borne out of misrepresentation and "sour grapes". He said: "Mr Wheeler is well-known to the county council. He is a persistent complainer about traffic measures in Selborne and has disagreed with his parish council over what these measures should be. "He and two or three others have now escalated their campaign into complaints and Freedom of Information requests on many different matters. He (Mr Wheeler) raises a number of issues that are out of context, misrepresent the position, or are factually incorrect. "The county council is a large organisation serving 1.25 million people, educating 170,000 children, maintaining 6,000 miles of roads, and looking after 80,000-plus vulnerable residents. "It is, therefore, easy for Mr Wheeler to bandy large figures out of context in an attempt to make the county council appear extravagant, however, we have made around £48m in savings over the last three years and our council tax is in the lowest 25 per cent for all county councils while our performance is in the top quartile. "We are a service-led organisation and Mr Wheeler should know that service-led organisations are, by their very nature, staff intensive (around 39,000 employees or the equivalent of 26,000 full-time workers, including teachers). "Taking Mr Wheeler's own figures, 38 per cent spent on staff is well below the average for any service-led organisation and in our case our staff costs only 10 years ago constituted 56 per cent of our total costs. "If the county council was profligate the district auditor would have been legally bound to point this out and recently the consultants that Mr Wheeler calls upon us to engage, having already been engaged by us, have reported that we are highly cost effective compared with other large county councils." Isitfair supporter and mathematician Michael Boon supports Mr Thornber's claim. He has looked in detail at per capita spending for all county councils in the country and said: "Hampshire is the second- most frugal county council in the country, people are lucky to have such a well-run council." Mr Boon added: "Compared to others, Hampshire is doing a good job, especially considering how low its grant is from central Government." According to national statistics, Hampshire is said to receive £112 grant per head compared to Durham at £325 and Fife at £900 – figures which Mr Boon believes represent "a lousy settlement for Hampshire people". He further points out that council's are able to use little discretion in how they spend their money and the services they deliver. "They have very little room to manoeuvre," said Mr Boon, who believes Mr Wheeler should be taking his concerns up with central Government and not Mr Thornber. Isitfair leader Christine Melsom said Mr Thornber works long hours for the county council and earns his money. She said: "Mr Thornber is worth every penny he gets – he works hard fighting Hampshire's corner and is constantly lobbying Government to get a fairer deal for the south." But she added: "Although Isitfair applauds Mr Thornber in his efforts to run an efficient council, the aim of Isitfair remains the complete reform of the council tax system and, in some aspects of this, we do not agree."
