Highland Council’s former transport committee chairman yesterday admitted that officials held back money for repairing drainage and potholes without his knowledge.
Some £600,000 was withheld from the roads maintenance budget as a “contingency” to ensure that the roads department could balance their books at the end of the year in the event of a severe winter.
The step was taken despite councillors agreeing during last year’s budget talks that up to £1million could be used from a separate development fund for potholes and drainage.
At yesterday’s full council meeting, Lochaber councillor Andrew Baxter asked the administration why the three area roads and community works managers were each asked to hold back £200,000 from their budget.
He was told that the money was retained in order to balance the transport, environmental and community services budget in 2012/13.
Mr Baxter said: “The answer on paper is worthy of the Ugandan manual of government. The council decided to give extra money on one hand and take it away with the other one.”
However, he also asked councillor Graham Phillips, who minutes before had been replaced as chairman of the council’s community services committee, when he knew of the decision and why it was not reported to council members. Former transport chairman Mr Phillips said: “At no time did I have a discussion with officials on this decision and I would not have approved it if I had done.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Baxter said: “I was surprised by the honest answer by councillor Phillips but I am extremely concerned that a fundamental decision that councillors made last year was effectively overturned without reference to us behind closed doors. From my point of view that is completely unacceptable.
“We fought hard last year during the budget to secure the extra funding for our roads and to see some of it disappear is nothing short of scandalous. We need a clear explanation from officers of why that was allowed to happen.”
Councillor Helen Carmichael said: “How is it possible the administration was not aware of this? How can we scrutinise decisions when we have heard these do not even come to committee?” Council chief executive Steve Barron said following a meeting with other officials about the importance of balancing the budget, the now-retired transport, environmental and community services director Neil Gillies, and official Richard Guest took action to create “contingency funds”.
Council leader Drew Hendry said a report would go before the council’s community services committee next week.