THE Mayor of Wellington used her casting vote to veto a proposal to spend council taxpayers’ money on a “vanity project” for remembering those who had previously had served in the role.

Cllr Janet Lloyd decided against supporting a suggestion – put forward by her predecessor Cllr Marcus Barr – for Wellington Town Council to have a Mayoral Honours Board designed and made.

The board would list all of those people who have held the position of chairman/Mayor since the town council was first created in 1974.

Councillors were split over the idea when they met at the council’s full monthly meeting on Monday (July 1) and resulted in a six-all vote, so Cllr Lloyd used her casting vote as Mayor to settle the matter and felt she could not support the proposal.

Cllr Barr had earlier said that it was “important to remember” those who had served in the role of Mayor so that future family generations could see the names of their relations of old inscribed on the board.

“It’s a massive honour being a Mayor and it is also a big burden as for a whole year your life is not your own,” he said.

Cllr John Thorne, who seconded Cllr Barr’s proposal, said: “I think it’s a good idea. I don’t know why we haven’t done this before.”

He said the board should list all the chairmen and Mayors since the inception of the town council in 1974. A report said the council had initially had a chairman and then a Mayor from 2008.

But Cllr Mark Lithgow, who served for two years as Mayor from 2021-2023, immediately opposed the proposal and described it as a “vanity project.”

“This is taxpayers’ money we’re talking about and we don’t really know the full costs involved,” he said. “I don’t need my name up in lights – it’s a vanity project and I’m not in favour of it.”

And Cllr Ross Henley added: “I wouldn’t want any public money to be spent on putting my name on a board. It’s self-indulgent.”

Cllr Steve Mercer said it would be wrong to spend money on the project when “money is stretched” already.

“I’m not unsympathetic with the idea, but not in the current climate,” he added.

Cllr Lloyd said: “We’ve spoken about this in the past and we’d need somewhere nice to put it.”

Cllr Barr, noticing the opposition to his suggestion, said: “This board would be for future generations, but if councillors don’t want it, that’s fine.”

Quotes for the project came in at £1,049 for a hardwood honours board or an acrylic board at £580. Cllr Barr had already agreed to help with the funding by donating his £350 councillor allowance for 2024-25 to the cause.

Deputy town clerk Alice Kendall suggested the board could be placed in the community office at 30 Fore Street once the council operated a reception and information point there after the temporary banking hub had moved to permanent premises at the former Barclays Bank premises.