But why does a small local council need a strategy director?
Even more mystifying is the other part of Redpath's £130k a year brief...."Local Engagement".
What the hell is all that about?
Like the Dame, Redpath takes no prisoners.
Should any resident be insolent enough to cross him he can expect short shrift...a man after the old Dame's heart.
But why do we need to pay this huge salary for what seems a a non job?
The usual refrain from these types is they will defect to the private sector if we don't give them what they want
Utter nonsense....few of these officers have transferable skills(apart from the Director of Planning).
And that accounts for the fact there has never been a reported incident of the vibrant private sector poaching one of these over paid creatures.
When it comes to Local Engagement Mr Redpath tends to be very unengaging with local residents.
In fact, he knows how to put residents firmly in their place.
One resident at the recent 'Ask Nick' do in Brompton dared ask too many questions of the Leader on the red hot Crossrail 2 topic. He got a bit of a bollocking from 'you know who'.
We need more senior officers like Redpath...men who don't put up with snivelling, protesting residents.
Anyone would think we paid these officers' wages.......
He is a bit of a white elephant. Came on secondment from the Civil Service and stayed because he thought he would succeed Derek Myers as Town Clerk. Sadly for him, Nicholas Holgate turned up - but Redpath upset so many senior Tories with his abrasive style that there is no way he would have got the top job anyway. Problem is, he is unemployable anywhere else now so we are stuck with him.
ReplyDeleteStaff members like Redpath, who end up with "non jobs" because it is an easier path than sacking them, have to invent a role for themselves. Usually they invoke the patronage of the Leader to "get noticed". The easiest way to do this is to bully weak people. Residents are an easy target.
Delete£130k is allot of money to spend on ballast. But there is a much bigger drawback. The organisation gets bogged down and de focused by a bunch of people who progressively divert it from what it is supposed to do. The medical world calls this constipation - which, if it is not treated, leads to life threatening disease.
As Leader, Cllr Paget-Brown seems to be "soft" in some very important areas.
Looks like he pissed off the Dame
ReplyDeleteWhat actually did happen at the Brompton Ask Nick meeting? Was Reedpath insolent to a taxpayer? We should be told.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Redpath. knowing he won't be getting any proper job thinks upsetting people will get him pushed out with a good pay off. Local government =rat's nest
If Mr Redpath was recruited in good faith but did not "make it" then the humane way to put him down is a clear understanding that a non job will be created for a time in order to give him time to find other employment. But there needs to be a strictly defined time frame for this. Nine months is the accepted norm.
DeleteThe great thing about non jobs is that they can be terminated at short notice without any noticeable effect on the functioning of the organisation.
Nick, its time to abolish the post of "Director of Strategy and Engagement". You know, I know, and everyone else knows, that this is the premier "non job" in Hornton Street. So stop wasting tax payers money and stop constipating the organisation.
Gormless looking guy. Definitely not Town Clerk material.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be a town clerk, whatever that may be, but I like the sound of Director of Strategy and Engagement. Which strategy, it seems not to matter. Engaging who? Who cares? Gizzajob.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like Bazza McKenzie
ReplyDeleteLooks like a car mechanic to me.
ReplyDeleteAnother wind bag exposed by the Dame
ReplyDelete