Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council

Senior councillors are being encouraged to pay themselves more money despite the authority looking to save £20m in its next budget.

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An independent panel's been examining the issue for Walsall Council and says those in the top posts are under-valuing themselves.

It believes the work they do has increased during the financial climate and freezing or cutting allowances could put people off from standing in future elections.

The panel's put forward three options for increasing the special responsibility allowances for senior councillors which a meeting of the full council will consider on Monday.

The report comes as the authority's said it's currently looking to make £20m of cuts to balance its budget in 2019-20.

Plans have been approved to cut council funding for a community alarm service for vulnerable people in Walsall.

The service, currently used by about 7,000 people, includes a special pendant which the service user can press if they need urgent help at home.

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Cabinet members met on Wednesday to ratify a decision they made in October but which had been called in for scrutiny.

The proposal to cut funding for the £1.29m service came about as the cash-strapped local authority looks to balance the books due to budget pressures.

Despite opposition from users and some councillors, cabinet members confirmed the funding cut would go-ahead and the service would be phased out between January and March, with private providers set to fill the void.

Changes to the way Walsall organises its polling stations are set to make a cash saving for the town council in 2019, it has been revealed.

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The council is proposing to merge two polling districts and rename them.

There are also planned changes to the location of polling stations previously used for the 2018 elections.

The new information is contained in a review of polling districts and places carried out by the town’s Electoral Services, which is due to be discussed at a council meeting next week.

Campaigners say someone could die after councillors in Walsall voted to stop providing a free community alarm service.

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The alarms most commonly take the form of a pendant which can be pressed to call for help in the event of an accident.

Walsall Council says its service is outdated and too expensive, costing £1.29m a year to deliver.

The authority says users will now be able to buy it from private providers at a cost of between £4 and £14 a month.

It's the only lifeline they've got, to press a button to say we need help. If you don't have an alarm, somebody could fall down and have nobody to call at all and they could lie there dying, couldn't they?"

Hundreds of jobs could be lost at Walsall Council as it tries to save £20m from its budget next year.

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The local authority has already saved more than £170m since 2010.

Council tax is due to go up by almost 3%, but further savings could include scrapping schemes such as free personal alarms for the elderly.

Youth and library services will also be reviewed, said the council.

Skips could be placed on the streets of Walsall in a bid to tackle the problem of fly-tipping in the area, the council has announced.

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Cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish is costing the authority more than £400,000 a year, it said.

The council says it fears waste on the road could lead to a serious accident.

There will also be trials of longer tip opening hours and free bulky waste collections.