Councillors in Hertsmere will each receive £2,000 a year for local projects, despite suggestions that the £78,000 would be better spent on reducing Council Tax.

The Ward Improvement Initiative scheme was approved at a full meeting of Hertsmere Borough Council to help previously “ignored” projects.

Introducing the scheme, council leader, Councillor Morris Bright said it would help “minor but important” issues in the borough and empower both local councillors and their constituents.

Although suggesting they would make use of the scheme, opposition Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors voiced concerns with its timing and implementation.

Leader of the Hertsmere Labour Party, Councillor Anne Harrison, said: “We are taking £78,000 at a time of severe financial shortage which would not otherwise be spent asking councillors to find something to spend it on. I suspect that a public vote on how to spend the money would choose to reduce our Council Tax.”

Labour councillor Di Hoeksma agreed, also adding that it would be difficult to fairly choose between one local project and another.

Bushey Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Kutchinsky said he disagreed with the need for all ward members to agree on a particular funding allocation, the lack of an appeal process and the veto a panel of unelected council officers would be given.

Fellow Liberal Democrats Laura Gray and Lynne Hodgson agreed pointing at potential disagreements between different political parties on local projects.

Conservative Councillor Shirley Legate disagreed saying the Liberal Democrats were putting politics into a non-political situation.

Councillor Bright voiced partial support for the Liberal Democrat councillors, saying changes to the approval scheme may be needed.

Conservative Bushey Heath Councillor Brenda Batten said prioritising decisions were made all the time and the correct projects could be chosen fairly.

She added: “ I think this is an excellent idea. We in Bushey do not have a parish or a town council and I think this is one way we can help our residents sometimes for just those little projects and little initiatives that can make a difference.”