It was disturbing to read that now that Katy Bourne has been in the job of Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner for only ten weeks her big decision is to employ a deputy.
Perhaps Katy Bourne needs to rethink her whole approach to her post before she loses the respect and backing of the public. The new Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner’s office will cost the taxpayer more than £1.1 million in its first year.
She said: “The Deputy role does not increase the PCC costs either as you need to take into account the fact that we are no longer paying allowances to the 17 members of the Police Authority.”
Even with a team of eight full-time personnel inherited from the defunct Sussex Police Authority, and four more staff on an advisory basis, she is recruiting a Chief Finance Officer, whose salary will be £77,000 per year and a Chief Executive & Monitoring Officer (whose wage hasn't been publicly declared.)
I previously wrote with my views that Cllr Steve Waight is the wrong choice for deputy Sussex PCC to Cllr Katy Bourne. What I did not expect was that the Sussex Police and Crime Panel (PCP) who are dominated by the same West Sussex Conservative Party to which Steve and Katy belong would have the integrity to make it clear that they could not support the decision either. The PCP’s chairman Brad Watson said “We were concerned that Mr Waight would not be able to devote enough time to this demanding job, given his commitment to other local authorities”
In my own consideration of Steve as Deputy PCC, I had not imagined he would also attempt to retain his County Council and Borough Council roles. Along with the work pressures, there is a clear risk of this being seen as a conflict of interest by residents in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove who will expect the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to understand their needs and represent them at least as well as the residents of Cuckfield and Goring (the two Wards that Katy and Steve represent as Councillors). My own views are based on the fact that Steve was rejected by the Conservative selection process as candidate for PCC, he did not even make it onto their long list of candidates of at least 12 people. He has a very similar skill set to Katy coming from a small business background and they are both Conservative Councillors in West Sussex. In most business or public roles, one would expect the deputy to bring different skills and perspective to the main role. Katy has done nothing to explain how Steve provides balance and diversity to her own role. What she has said is “Steve will primarily take on the communities programme while I oversee the business and financial side while holding the chief constable to account.“ As logical as this sounds, Katy is the one who was elected on the basis that “public service experience as a school governor and local councillor means that I also understand the importance of community engagement and accountability which will be vital to this role.” Assuming that Katy believed that the community was important in October when she was seeking their votes, it is shaming for her to delegate this vital responsibility to someone whose experience and ongoing focus will be on representing electors in one small part of Sussex for his other roles. Katy goes on to say that “Steve has a proven record at engaging with the public and working in the public sector”. She has encouraged him to remain a county councillor so he is involved in public issues. It seems bizarre that with this track record, the Conservative party denied the voters of the chance to vote for him.
it wouldn't surprise anyone if Katy Bourne gave the job to her husband
Aside from the direct risk of investing in bubbles, there’s the innocent bystander effect. The ongoing subprime bubble-caused financial crisis has already cost state pension funds an estimated $1.3 trillion.The two California public employee retirement systems have so far lost a combined $110 billion — even though the two were never heavily invested in them in the first place. New York and Florida public employee funds have taken similar losses.
We know from another Tweet that Katy is a fan of the American Boardwalk Empire TV series about a part time Politician and part time Gangster)
Katy Bourne Exposed Part Two
One man's mission to change the world by eliminating war poverty and child abuse
Katy Bourne's Facebook Farce Who's involved in Katrina Taylor's murder coverup? Getting ready for 2015 - Taylor v's Kirby That it all leads to the Queen and the Pope. Partners in Crime - Simon Kirby and Philip Davies Arrest the Queen of England for High Treason