Council says claims over chairman's car costs are "nonsense"

Claims that providing Powys County Council’s chairman with a car will cost taxpayers £37,000 have been dismissed as nonsense by the council.

Buying Councillor Dai Davies a car to be used for civic duties for 12 months of office will cost the council less than £3,000 after resale, significantly better value than hiring, leasing or having the chairman use his own car, the council claimed today.

Leader Councillor Rosemarie Harris said; “The role of Chairman of Powys County requires a car to carry out civic duties effectively. The current chairman has a physical disability which means he needs an automatic car, something that was not available on the previous vehicle.

“The council investigated a number of financial options including annual hire, lease and purchase, with outright purchase taken up because it was the most cost-effective and provided the best value for money for the authority.

“Our research showed that the total cost of providing an Audi A6 after taking into account resale was £2,592 compared to £6,475 lease costs for the same model Skoda Superb used in the past. The full cost to the council of paying mileage to the chairman would have been £7,000 if he had travelled 20,000 miles – an average distance for the post.

“When investigating the financial viability of any project the council has a duty to compare full-term costs to ensure value for money.”