"COME and do my job for a day and see how easy it is to save money."
That was the challenge laid down by North East Lincolnshire Council leader Chris Shaw to the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) during a radio interview yesterday.
And Andrew Allison, the pressure group's national grassroots co-ordinator, has agreed to take Councillor Shaw up on his offer.
The council leader made the bizarre invitation whilst responding to comments made by Mr Allison about council spending.
Asked by local radio about a report by the Local Government Association (LGA) which claims that local services will suffer as a result of Government cuts, Mr Allison suggested that many local authorities could still find ways to save money without affecting front-line services.
And although Mr Allison did not single out NELC for criticism, his words obviously struck a nerve with Councillor Shaw, who hit back with an outspoken attack on the TPA, and an invitation to Mr Allison to "come and do my job".
Speaking to the Grimsby Telegraph after the radio interview, Councillor Shaw said: "I am fed up of the Taxpayers' Alliance saying it is easy for councils to save all this money. They are very good at pointing the finger and saying councils should do this and do that, but it is very easy for them because they are sitting on the sidelines."
Accusing Mr Allison of employing the "same old rhetoric", Councillor Shaw added: "It was a case of all we've got to do is share some officers and cut a couple of salaries. I am having to take 50 per cent out of the council's budget and I'm not going to do that by sharing officers.
"They say they are a pressure group but I don't need any more pressure. They should be putting pressure on the Government who is cutting our budget."
Councillor Shaw had invited Mr Allison to come and spend a full week with him, but Mr Allison said he could only commit to one day, expected to be sometime next week.
Councillor Shaw added: "Maybe he could give some insight into how we could save some money. If he comes up with some sensible ideas I will look at them.
"He can come to any meetings that I go to. But if he thinks he's coming in for a sit down and a coffee he's in for a bit of a shock."
Mr Allison said he was slightly taken aback by Councillor Shaw's offer, but said he would go into the meeting with an open mind.
He told the Grimsby Telegraph: "I just made some general comments about the LGA report. I didn't mention North East Lincolnshire or Councillor Shaw at all so I think he is taking it a little too personally.
"I have had meetings with senior councillors but never had an invitation like this. I will have a series of questions for him about whether or not council taxpayers are getting good value for money."
Councillor Shaw's outburst came on the day that the TPA released its annual Town Hall Rich List, which shows the number of employees earning more than £100,000 at local authorities across the country.
The report shows that in 2011-12, five members of staff at NELC received total remuneration, including employer pension contributions, of more than £100,000.
This was a reduction from eight in the previous year.
Councillor Shaw said the figures showed that NELC was not a "profligate" authority.
He added that further cuts to the senior management team could be in the offing.
He said: "Liz Jones (deputy chief executive) is due to take retirement in 18 months and we are probably not going to replace her. Our officers work very hard and do a very good job. But we are still looking at what savings we can make to help the taxpayer."
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