The leader of Pembrokeshire County Council has told Tenby councillors that he acknowledges that 'clunky and clumsy' decisions made in the past by the authority have taken their toll on the county. The authority's leader, Clr. Jamie Adams, was invited to meet with members of Tenby Town Council ahead of their meeting on Tuesday night, after members had supported the views of Solva Community Council who had recently written an open letter to the county council leader, to say how 'unimpressed' they had been left, with his response to concerns they had. Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown, who had passed the resolution to invite Clr. Adams to the meeting, said that the main thing she wished to know was what was happening to town and community councils in light of well-documented problems that had been occurring at County Hall, with regards to issues such as the pension payments row to senior officers. "Why did the electorate have to pay for a barrister to defend the county council's CEO, when every community is scraping money together?" she asked. "In my opinion, it cost us and that money was used wrongly. I respect the county council's process but it effects us badly. "We're prudent with our money as a town council and we're trying hard to maintain the standard of Tenby which is a premiere resort, but we are not being warned of the cuts that have come and it could effect us for years," continued Clr. Mrs. Brown. Clr. Adams said that there were a few major points that had arisen in press reports that he wished to explain, not least the senior staff pensions issue which had become the 'elephant in the room'. "It's clearly an issue that has taken on a life of it's own, but it was a decision taken three years ago under a different time at the previous council when I wasn't leader, but I acknowledge that it looked a clumsy and clunky decision, and would lead us to consider such decisions differently in the future." He continued: "The county council met with the auditor who presented a set of recommendations and the scheme was stopped with no intention of introducing it in the future. "The authority's position was challenged by the auditor on the process of the decision, but in terms of the law, the decision was correct. "Legal advice was taken in the public interest to check on our legal position, but it was never about individuals at the council, it was all about the process." Clr. Lawrence Blackhall said that he and his fellow councillors were worried that significant budget cuts would effect the look of the town and the quality of services delivered, and that it was hard not to think of the problems experienced at the authority being inexplicably linked with the recent cuts that the town council had been presented with. "It was largely a matter that could've been dealt with quicker, but it suited some people on the council to drag it on which was disappointing," commented Clr. Adams. "Some members seem to be more concerned about the process than the delivery, but the focus of the council is now outwards rather than navel-gazing, so we can move forward as one team without the internal strife we've had," he continued. Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, said that the town council along with Tenby in Bloom had worked successfully for the past 10 years with the county council and had formed a wonderful relationship, which was why it was a surprise when it was recently announced out of the blue that there would be cuts to the gardening budget of the town after the town council had made their precept. "The revenue from Tenby is massive for the county and we can't let our standards drop and unfortunately it seems that we're not getting the real deal at the moment in terms of budget for these particular services for the town," she said, while Clr. Mike Evans remarked that the slashing of the budgets was difficult to comprehend when the likes of parking charges in the town were increasing and enforcement officers were constantly on patrol providing more funds to the authority. "It's seen as pettiness that the plants can no longer be watered, which we can't see in the budget sheets, but effects the tourism aspect of Tenby a great deal. "Tourism is the goose that is continuously laying the egg for the county and it's a global market we're competing with these days and it's so important," remarked Clr. Evans, with Clr. Mrs. Tish Rossiter stating that she didn't feel that Pembrokeshire as a whole was promoted enough through the county council's tourism department. "I'm fully aware of the impact of what competitions like Wales in Bloom do for Tenby, and the authority's commitment to that side of the town remains," said Clr. Adams. "I hope that the investment that the authority has made into the recent development of the town's Information Centre, bus stop and toilets by the multi-storey is a signal of our understanding of the commitment we have to Tenby," he added.