SINCE the economy collapsed into recession in 2008 it was only going to be a matter of time before it began to impact on public finances.

The general election may have delayed the gloom, as an outgoing Government tried to hide the impending cutbacks, but less money to tax was always going to mean less money to spend.

And so after years of the life on the gravy train, Kent County Council's fat cats are now going to have to tighten their belts.

Chiefs finally saw sense when they stopped bankrolling Bob Geldof's money-hungry Kent TV, but now they must find even more dead flesh to cut off their £1bn behemoth.

The most obvious places to aim the axe are the salaries and pensions of council officers, and the county's shameless self-promotion.

Our county has some of the highest-paid civil servants in the land, whose contracts are bulging with gold-plated pension schemes and unnecessary perks.

The estimated £80,000 a year will be handed over to East Kent's new "shared services boss" – just one example of council officers failing to realise that times have changed.

When people are losing their jobs and facing pay cuts around the country, the public sector must not be wrapped up in taxpayer-funded cotton wool.

It was questionable whether public servants should get more than the Prime Minister, even in times of plenty. When times are tough it is inexcusable.

The other obvious dead wood is the glossy magazines councils put through our doors. Costing thousands to produce, they are another expense that should be thrown out the window when money is tight.

The cuts coming our way are worrying, but with commonsense at county hall the pain they cause to the public can be considerably minimised.