The Current Commissioner and his deputy have used a £600k grant reduction to justify levying an additional £6m from local communities. The Commissioner sits on nearly £60m of tax payers’ money in general reserves, and was supposed to be planning for a much bigger reduction in Government Grant that didn’t materialise. The Commissioner and his Deputy are using this small grant cut as cover for the fact that they are unable to effectively reform our Police Services; they are willing to use the healthy reserves left by the Conservative run Police Authority and the hard pressed Council Tax payer to foot the bill for their failings.
John says, “If I were Commissioner I would spend existing resources as effectively as possible before asking our hard pressed community to spend more. It is understandable that some local Councils that have seen Grant cuts of up to 50% in recent years having to consider raising Council Tax, but I don’t believe the Commissioner, having had his funding effectively protected, has a case for asking the public to pay more. I would urge local residents to respond to his consultation so that he can perform a swift U turn!”
West Mercia Police & Crime Commisioner precept statement and consultation here http://www.westmercia-pcc.gov.uk/News-and-Events/News-Archive/2016/PCC-Considers-Precept-Increase-to-Sustain-Local-Policing.aspx