Waverley turns the spotlight on salary spend

We have done this six months ahead of the government's timetable.

Commitment to transparency

Cllr Mike Band (Con), Waverley's councillor responsible for finance, comments: "It is just a month since the government wrote to councils to encourage them to publish information on spending, salaries, job titles and minutes of meetings. We have always been committed to being open about how we spend taxpayers' money and since earlier this year we have been publishing details of invoice payments. In early June we also became the first borough council in the country to publish our spotlight on spend data in an easy to use online format. Publishing details about the salaries of our highest paid officers and what their roles involve is the latest sign of our commitment to transparency."

Good track record of robust financial management

As a council Waverley has a good track record of robust financial management. This was a fact highlighted by the District Auditor in his annual audit letter in November 2009. Waverley was also praised for its "good understanding of its costs which remain below average when compared with similar councils."

Cllr Band says: "I am proud of the way we manage our finances. Since 2007, we have saved £3.5million and reduced staff numbers by over 10 per cent. Because these changes have been planned, we have been able to make significant reductions in expenditure whilst at the same time bringing about improvements in service delivery."

He adds: "However, I am not complacent and in December last year we instigated a programme to establish means of further significant cost reductions. There is no doubt that we are more efficient than we were three years ago and, with this further work, will be well prepared to face up to the challenging times ahead."

More information

Got to www.waverley.gov.uk/spend for information about salaries, organisational charts, councillors' expenses, videos of council meetings and payments to suppliers.