A REFERENDUM costing £35,000 to ask West Devon's residents whether they want an elected mayor has been attacked by borough council Tories as a 'dreadful waste of money'.

The Conservatives say the cash would be better spent on streamlining the existing committee system to improve council services — but an Independent councillor says an elected mayor would 'bring democracy to the people'.

Conservative group leader Cllr Dick Eberlie said some people might think an elected mayor would be a 'ceremonial' post. But what was being proposed was an 'executive' mayor who would run the council's services with a hand-picked 'little cabal of chums'.

He said: 'If an executive mayor were to be in control, just half a dozen councillors — certainly no more than ten — would be selected to form a cabinet to take all decisions about running the whole council.'

They would only be subject to a form of scrutiny after the event, he said. The people of West Devon did not elect councillors in order to have them sidelined to 'little working parties'.

'The new mayor might conceivably be more efficient but only at the price of making plans in a little cabal of chums without bothering to consult the ratepayers.'

Cllr Eberlie said the Conservatives want a streamlined committee system. Under this, council committees would have responsibility for their own budgets. It would avoid items going to working parties and through up to four 'layers of discussion' as at present.

Cllr Eberlie blamed the Government for the elected mayor proposal. 'The Government is taking us in quite the wrong direction, centralising controls in Whitehall, leaving so little to local discretion to meet local circumstances,' he said.

Government legislation for modernising local councils allows a referendum to be called within five years if 2,000 voters demand one.

Because the initial consultation in West Devon saw a close result for the two most popular choices — 30% for an elected mayor and 33% for streamlined committees — councillors voted to have a referendum rather than face the uncertainty that one might be demanded later.

Independent councillor Pat Warne favours the elected mayor option as 'bringing democracy to the people'. She said the consultation had shown that more than 60% of residents favoured changing the existing system.

She said: 'The public should be given the opportunity to make their own choice.

'The consistent message I have received from the public is that they would like to see someone who is accountable at the borough council.'

Cllr Warne said she saw an elected mayor as being similar to the chairman of a company who would be responsible and answerable to shareholders.

'There are always fears when there is something new, but the system will be democratic because it involves electing the top man or woman - and the full council will still be able to vote on decisions.'

A leaflet, entitled 'U Decide', explaining the two options has been sent by the borough council to all the 22,000 households in West Devon.

The all-postal ballot takes place on January 31 2002. It asks if electors favour the proposal for an elected mayor. The response will be a simple Yes or No and the result will be declared the following day.

Whichever system is chosen will have to come into force next May.