Liverpool taxpayers are set to fork around £80,000 for an independent investigation into city council failures over an energy contract.
Auditors are currently carrying out an urgent probe into the city council in order to find out how a litany of mistakes occurred which could end up costing the city as much as £16 million in additional electricity costs. International accounting firm Mazars have been tasked with the job.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the month, with Mayor Joanne Anderson seeking 'full accountability' for the expensive mistakes made. The ECHO understands the investigation is likely to cost as much as £80,000 to the council and city taxpayers.
READ MORE: Deputy Mayor removed from finance role after council energy bill 'disaster'
It is another added cost that the city will have to pay out as the struggling council tries to turn itself around. Liverpool residents are already paying wages of up to £1800 per day for four commissioners that were appointed after last year's damning council inspection report. The commissioners will remain in place for at least three years.
Deputy Mayor Jane Corbett was the first of what could be a number of casualties from the energy contract fiasco. She has had her finance brief removed and taken over by Mayor Joanne Anderson. Mayor Anderson said she will now hire a new political adviser to help specifically with the budget, while Cllr Corbett will focus on the council's response to the cost of living crisis.
The electricity scandal, which is set to cost the council an immediate £4.5m and will also hit schools and the local fire service with huge additional bills, will be the subject of what could be an explosive town hall meeting tonight. An extraordinary meeting of the authority's Finance and Resources Committee has been called where the entire matter will be discussed.
There are real concerns that the energy debacle could prompt further government interventions at Liverpool City Council. The current commissioners are overseeing the specific departments of Regeneration, Highways and Property Management - but Communities Secretary Michael Gove retains the power to stage further interventions if he believes enough progress is not being made.
The current commissioner team were due to submit their latest update on the progress being made at the council last month, but the latest problems have delayed this until early June. A statement from Mr Gove's department will only have raised fears about further action.
A department spokesperson said: "This situation is unacceptable. We sent in commissioners last year to turn around this struggling council so that it delivers for the public, and we remain in close contact with them about their progress.”
