CAMPUS West bosses are to be brought before councillors to explain how the venue is almost �250,000 over budget.

At a borough council finance meeting on Monday night, held in the WGC venue, it was revealed this was just one of hundreds of over and underspends in this year’s accounts.

Incensed councillor Martin Levitt, himself a trained accountant, said he was shocked by the overspend, which he branded a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

He told the committee: “It’s a real disgrace to the management of this humble establishment.

“The responsible officer needs to come to this committee and explain themselves.”

Officers explained the venue had generated around �35,000 more income than expected, but there had been a huge jump in running costs such as casual staff.

There was also an overspend of �45,000 for an historic inaccurate meter reading at the entertainment venue.

Council accountant Geoff May told the committee: “The overspend has been pointed out to the manager and head of service and they’ve gone through a number of cost efficiencies and controls have been out in place.”

Other overspends included:

? �188,000 investigations into Hatfield chalk mines.

? �161,000 early retirement costs.

? �110,000 set-up costs of new rubbish collection scheme.

? �90,000 reduction in garages income.

? �75,000 Gosling/Finesse potential amalgamation.

? �14,400 dispute with utility company over Hatfield market’s toilet block.

The committee noted the report.