The vehicle utilized by the Lord Mayor of Swansea has been sold after racking up more than £eight,000 of servicing and upkeep fees in less than years.
Council chiefs had opted to buy the previous automobile – a Volkswagen Phaeton – after leasing it among 2011 and 2017. Officials insisted the acquisition become the most value-powerful option after the rent came to quit.
Swansea Council, which had have been paying £eight,800 in line with year to lease the car, bought it for £nine,1/2, with the exception of VAT, in December 2017.
But servicing and upkeep prices, which had been previously protected via the hire, have mushroomed in the latest months.
Between April 1 and August 31 this year, those fees reached £four,561, taking the overall to £8,427 when you consider that the purchase.
That brought about the authority to promote the VW, which went for £four,seven-hundred at public sale.
The Lord Mayor of Swansea has long had the use of a reliable vehicle funded by using the taxpayer.
The car, which comes with a motive force, can most effective be used for legitimate commercial enterprise – and isn’t for private use.
And officers have previously stated the Mayor needs access to a car due to the fact they are frequently on the circulate attending capabilities and helping to sell appropriate causes and attending civic features.
The contemporary Mayor Peter Black – a former Liberal Democrat AM – and his spouse Angela is helping the charities Unity in Diversity, Crisis, and Llys Nini as part of the Lord Mayor’s charity fund this 12 months.
The council
showed that shopping for the VW Phaeton in 2017 was the best choice.
It added: “However, inside the beyond yr, the upkeep costs of the car have elevated because of its age and mileage.
“Consequently, the car has been sold and a hire automobile is being used inside the period in-between while the council reveals a replacement as a way to comply with the council’s green fleet coverage.”
This method a longer-term replacement may be a hybrid or electric automobile.
The figures for the value of going for walks the civic car, which follows a Freedom of Information request by using the Local Democracy Reporter Service, do now not encompass the driver’s income.
