IT’S human nature to join in the clamour for local authorities to be meaner and leaner in times of crisis and to cut their own resources as opposed to public services.

I’ve certainly never shied away from calling for council bureaucracy to be slashed and for unnecessary highly-paid staff to be gotten rid of. However, what most of us miss is there is a very real human cost involved in this.

Last week, county council chief executive Chris Williams told how 550 jobs were going. Lots of you may applaud and say ‘high time too’. And I will agree with you when you say making the council more cost effective is better than axing vital day centres or failing to carry out road repairs.

And yet, there are 550 families who may be facing a very bleak Christmas, unless there is a bumper redundancy or pension pay out involved. The thought of losing one’s job is something every normal person dreads and I feel for these people that have been caught in the crossfire of budget deficits.

It’s true the council isn’t at fault for the current financial black-hole, but councillors from all over Bucks are to blame for the years of missed savings opportunties. For as Chris Williams said, annual savings of £35m were identified four years ago from merging the county’s major councils into one unitary authority. For whatever reason, this plan was rejected.

Now the day of reckoning has come for our monolithic councils which simply aren’t lean enough for 2010. Yes, it’s terrible our day centres are closing, but spare a thought for the forgotten victims of this crisis – the 550 people who could be ending up on the dole.