As you would expect at this time of year, Cheshire East Council is crying poverty and racking up the council tax.

Public services can be cut to help CEC live within its budget.

These cuts may start as ‘temporary measures’ but once made they are rarely reversed.

For example, residents have been driving around in the dark for years with no indication the expensive road lighting system will ever be fully functional.

Meanwhile enormous salaries and benefit packages are handed out to top executives.

You may recall that the council paid £720,000 for three suspended officers during 2017/18 for gardening leave and an investigation.

So, here’s my suggestion for using taxpayers’ money more wisely.

Take a good look at the contracts being routinely handed out to senior officers and be more realistic.

If CEC can’t afford to keep the street lights lit, it can’t afford investigations and compensation packages.

It would be wise to reflect on the recruitment process.

Forget all that nonsense about employing ‘the best talent’, CEC’s record of hiring and firing is on a par with President Trump.

It’s just ridiculous to spend several hundred thousand pounds on investigations with the current financial restraints at CEC.

Try explaining to those with severe mobility issues how CEC can afford such huge expenses when they lose their bus service.

How many highly-qualified retired executives would volunteer to commit to a couple of years to helping the community by taking on a senior management role in local government?

Obviously I don’t know the answer to that question but it’s one well worth asking.

CEC needs some creative thinking and fewer excuses for throwing away taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

Come the local elections on May 2, voters are going to want answers to these questions.

ANSWERS NEEDED FROM CHESHIRE POLICE

In December 2015, Cheshire Police launched a ‘misconduct in public office’ investigation of Cheshire East Tory council leader Michael Jones.

More than three years later residents are no wiser.

Several other police investigations involving other senior members of the Tory administration have so far revealed nothing.

It would be stretching credibility to believe that every one of these investigations is sufficiently complex that none could be resolved in this time frame.

Given that Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane managed to consult over a million Cheshire residents on his proposal to increase the police council tax precept, concluding the entire process in 28 days, one would have expected a lot more action.

Now I’m guessing, and I stand to be corrected, that not one of these investigations will be completed before the May 2 local election.

If that proves to be the case then residents are being asked to cast their vote whilst being deprived of essential information.

Clearly the result of these investigations could be a serious embarrassment to the ruling Conservatives in Cheshire East who have no incentive to hurry them along.

Further delay however would surely attract the attention of the national press.

In any event the taxpayers of Cheshire deserve more respect. Forcing them to cast their vote devoid of essential facts is an insult to their intelligence.

KNUTSFORD SHOULD SAY NO TO A PEDESTRIAN ONLY TOWN CENTRE I LOVE

Knutsford and go there on a regular basis to have lunch and do some shopping.

Compared to other nearby towns, King Street always appears busy and inviting.

I’m not surprised that it has the lowest rate in the area for unoccupied retail premises.

Grove Street in Wilmslow was the same once, as was Mill Street in Macclesfield but sadly not any more.

Of course out of town shopping and the internet haven’t helped our town centres but pedestrianisation, once seen as the panacea, has proved to be the exact opposite.

Quite apart from the convenience of parking on the main street and popping into a shop, pedestrianisation killed the hustle and bustle.

It may be purely perception but in retail that’s extremely important.

When the cars disappeared from the centre of town so did the illusion and while a quiet, traffic-free High Street is easier to walk around it loses much of its appeal.

Knutsford still has that attraction but make it a pedestrian-only zone and the magic will die. Maybe not at peak times like Christmas but on a week-to-week basis, towns centres need to look busy.

Macclesfield now displays life-size photos of happy customers on the inside of unoccupied shops to foster the impression of a thriving town centre.

Knutsford should think very carefully before it swaps real customers for digital pictures.

By Guardian columnist Vic Barlow

You can contact Vic by email at vicbarlow@icloud.com.