Surrey County Council's £46,000 Olympic 'gimmick' (From Elmbridge Guardian)

Surrey County Council's £46,000 Olympic 'gimmick'

10:00am Thursday 27th August 2009

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Despite not hosting any events for the 2012 London games Surrey County Council is spending £46,000-a-year on an Olympics co-ordinator.

The closest the one-star council came to having an Olympic event in the county was a failed bid to have a shooting competition in Bisley near Woking.

But that hasn’t stopped the authority from spending £138,000 of taxpayers’ money on a three year contract to create an “Olympic legacy for the county”.

Surrey councillor Eber Kington, who represents Epsom, said the recruitment was “extraordinary” given the financial situation.

He said: “The council has already lost money in Icelandic banks and cut back £1m in road repairs. I think at a time when everything is being cut back it could use the money better.

“Do the residents feel that an Olympic legacy is their first priority right now? Surely street lighting, roads and crime prevention are more important. At the moment the message, after the interim report, is that the council is inefficient.

“Local people are getting pretty fed up with their local authority.”

The council, recently described by the outgoing chief executive Michael Frater as “arrogant” and “bullying”, is looking for someone to ensure “Surrey 2012 programme has maximum impact”.

But Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, suggested that existing council officers can do the job.

He said: “Given that Surrey aren’t even hosting any Olympic events in 2012, this job is unnecessary and smacks of gimmickry by the council, who seem more keen to demonstrate that they are in touch with current events than to deliver good value for money.”

Denise Saliagopoulos, the county council’s cabinet member for the 2012 Games, said the role would help Surrey's businesses compete for Olympics-related contracts.

She said: “The Games can be brought to Surrey by attracting foreign teams to train at the county’s excellent sports facilities and use the inspiration of the Games to involve more people in cultural and sporting events.

“Now is the time to give our businesses the help and advice they need to clinch work on offer in the run-up to and during the Olympics. The skills they learn will allow the same companies to bid for public procurement contracts. In this way, the benefits we create will have a legacy that will be enjoyed beyond 2012.”

The deadline for potential candidates is September 6.

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