Past chairmen’s badges cost taxpayer £3,510

JPCT 210214 S14090303x Horsham District Council. Past Chairman badges presented by Philip Circus -photo by Steve Cobb

Philip Circus (Con, Chanctonbury), chairman of Horsham District Council, announced earlier this month that each past chairman would receive a badge in recognition of their service to the local authority, as well as giving them civic regalia to wear at official ceremonies and occasions.

Last Friday he awarded the new badges to some of the 20 surviving ex-chairmen at a special presentation at HDC’s offices in North Street.

The council revealed that each badge cost £117, and they had purchased 20 for the past chairmen, with ten available for outgoing chairmen to receive at the end of their year in office. This would bring the total cost to £3,510.

JPCT 210214 S14090281x Horsham District Council. Past Chairman badges presented by Philip Circus -photo by Steve Cobb

Meanwhile to date HDC has purchased 21 iPads for councillors with the council currently paying £335 per device, at an estimated total cost of £7,035.

A spokesperson for HDC said: “Following a test period last year with iPads, where they proved to be considerably faster than laptops but still very secure, councillors are now being given the choice of either having a council-owned laptop or an iPad to access the council’s systems and emails.

“To date the council has purchased 21 iPads - a mixture of iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad air 16GB - from its budget for replacement and renewal of IT equipment.”