This is a story of greed, arrogance and contempt.
The Chief Fire Officer and Executive
Director for Communities & Public Protection jobs were
combined, just three years ago, to “bring the fire service, community
development and regulatory services together to help build safer and stronger
communities”. There is nothing to stop Sean Ruth staying in this job, so why
this plan? It can only be to get his hands on his fire service pension, but his
problem is that Police and Fire Minister Brandon Lewis has banned senior fire
officers from getting generous retirement pay-outs and then immediately returning
to their jobs.
He and the Chief Executive appear to have cooked up this dodgy and very expensive
scheme to get around the Minister’s ban. Sean Ruth continues to run the fire
& rescue service, but will just be called Executive Director, and the new
‘Chief Fire Officer’ will, in practice, just be a Deputy dancing to Sean Ruth’s
tune. As well as having to pay Sean Ruth’s high salary and generous pension, taxpayers
will now also have to pay a new Chief Fire Officer.
Louise Goldsmith & Sean Ruth
Council Leader Louise Goldsmith and Cabinet Member David
Barling must have approved this devious scheme, and arrogantly think they can ignore
the Minister. If they want to reward Sean Ruth for supporting their false
claims, that cuts were ‘improvements’, it should not be at taxpayers’ expense. They
also arrogantly assume they will be re-elected and able to instruct Conservative
Councillors to approve this disgraceful plan.
It shows contempt for firefighters and Council staff, who must
do more, thanks to Council cuts. It shows contempt for Councillors, who were
not consulted on this reorganisation at the top. Firefighters knew in January that Sean Ruth would retire this
year, so there was no legitimate reason for hushing it up until after the last
County Council meeting. It shows contempt for the Minister. Above all it shows utter contempt for the public, who
will in no way benefit, but will have to fund this travesty.
“It’s completely unacceptable for fire services to act in this way”.
Brandon Lewis (Minister for Policing and the Fire Service)
Finally, it is completely reckless to upset the Minister who
has the final say in whether the Council or Police & Crime Commissioner Katy
Bourne will run our fire & rescue service. David Barling repeatedly shows why
the service is not safe in his hands, and now this idiotic move. Sadly, Louise
Goldsmith and David Barling have now gifted our fire & rescue service to
Katy Bourne. They should be ashamed.
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