Dear Dame,
We know that it is 'the silly season' and no doubt you and those you care for have already long escaped to Med or a walking holiday in The Alps? But could you not have left someone (even your ludicrous and dissolute nephew Ludo?) to keep the blog turning over new material and revelations.
We really are bored, bored, bored with another round of raking over the ancient failings and iniquities of that Dent Coad Woman or the 'sanctity' of Ian Henderson.
There are new scandals at hand if one only looks.
Why not try this one for size?
While no longer able to 'slosh around the dosh' as the borough used to our council is not yet as bankrupt as so many others.
Every ward is given a budget of approximately £30,000 for its councillors to spend on matters of particular need or concern to the ward and for the elected councillors to encourage local charities or organisations.
In 'the olden days' these discretionary grants did much good in the most deprived wards and at least provided hanging baskets in the affluent south!
Judith Blakeman and Pat Mason were particularly skilled in spending their discretionary funds for the benefit of their electors
But now rumours grow that inexperienced, idiotic or uncaring are so many of the new councillors that the ward budgets are unspent and the monies are returned to the Council's reserves.
But now rumours grow that inexperienced, idiotic or uncaring are so many of the new councillors that the ward budgets are unspent and the monies are returned to the Council's reserves.
Come on Dear Dame please instruct Ludo to do some homework over the summer and give us 'a list of shame' detailing which wards and Councillors were unable to spend the funds given to them to benefit local causes.
Once we know which wards failed to deliver we can then dig deeper to find out if the underspends resulted from inexperience, incompetence or a principled decision not to spend unnecessary monies in these straightened times.
As ever, Dear Dame,
'one who knows about these matters'
Labour Councillors would make sure the money was spent; no problem. Labour Councillors know that if you don't spend the budget allocated to you, you lose it the next time round when budgets are set.
ReplyDeleteThe Tories think that penny pinching and carefully husbanding every last penny could reduce the Council Tax by a pound a year.
Does the Council still have Area Review Boards for Council tenants? I recall the monetary awards from that honeypot being abused many years ago with favourite Tenant Associations doing very nicely - so long as they did not upset TMO bosses.
Nice to see the Dame praise an idea that came from Merrick Cockell
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything in the post that indicates the Dame is praising Cockell
DeleteWere these Area Review Boards a creation of Sir Merrick?
DeleteThe was much controversy about how the money was dished out.
There have always been good and bad councillors on both sides but I have never seen in 30 years such an uninspiring sloppy, hopeless and careless bunch as last years intake.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Bring back Monica Press and Ian Henderson- they were very hard working, committed and decent people
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