Town hall cashier service may close

A decision about its future will be made by Arun District Council's most senior councillors next month.

But they have been told by their fellow members that recommendations to shut the two payment desks should be over-ruled.

A report by council officers which advised that the cashiers should go from next April 1 to save tens of thousands of pounds a year was debated in private by the council's policy development scrutiny committee at its latest meeting.

The committee's members said the report's finding was wrong. Members from all political parties were worried about the effect of the closure on the council's tenants.

They said the counters provided the most vulnerable members of the community with a vital service and undertook an exceptional social function.

Committee vice-chairman Cllr Alan Stainton (Felpham West) said: 'An awful lot of the tenants and other residents prefer to pay their bills by cash.

'It's easy for us to take the view that everyone should pay their bills by direct debit, or other electronic means, but some people do not find that convenient.

'The consultation we carried out with the users of the cash office counters showed they clearly valued the service. To a certain percentage of residents, that service is essential.

'The value of a service does not have to be measured in notes. The service might be expensive to provide but there are people who need to use it.'

The committee's members also stated their hope that the opening hours at Bognor could be extended to match those of Littlehampton's general 9am to 5pm service.

The cash officer counters service has been available in Bognor town hall since 1971. Its opening hours were cut by Arun three years ago in a cost-saving move instead of complete closure.

The decision saw the hours reduced from 9am to 5pm most weekdays to the current schedule of 9.30am to 2.30pm Mondays to Fridays.

The service saw just over 49,000 transactions conducted last year, though the number of customers is unknown. Several staff at the town hall serve on the counters.

The committee's decision will be debated by Arun's cabinet on July 23 before a final decision on the fate of the counter service is known.

The officers' report examined a range of councils to see how they treated payments by residents. Some only allowed electronic payments such as direct debit. Others permitted several methods. The report also recommended that the Littlehampton cashier service should be scrapped.