Conservative councillors from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have called on the Mayor to rethink his Christmas consultation.
Mayor Dr Nik Johnson launched a public consultation on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s budget which closes on Monday 23rd December.
Local Conservative leaders have written to the Mayor to request the consultation period be extended ‘by at least one working week into the New Year to give residents the opportunity to have their say on important changes which will affect them’.
They say the closing date of 23rd December is too close to Christmas, as members of the public will be ‘preoccupied’ with festive preparations.
The Mayoral budget includes yet another hike this year in his Mayoral precept by 4.99%.
Last year, the Mayor increased his precept from £12 to £36 per year for a Band D property – a 200% increase that will make proposals for further tax rises hard to swallow for working people.
Cllr Heather Williams, Leader of the Conservative Opposition at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said:
“I think extending the consultation is the right thing to do.
“Now more than ever, with the recent Devolution White Paper, there will be attention on the Combined Authority, and this is the moment for the Mayor to show that Combined Authorities will respect and implement the views of those who elect them. But this can only be achieved if there is sufficient response to a consultation such as this.
“With Christmas around the corner, naturally people will be focused on other things. What we are asking for is not excessive, will not cause significant delays and, most important of all, is the right thing to do.
“So I would encourage everybody to have their say in this consultation because what may seem like a small increase for some can have a huge impact on others.”
