Who gave permission? Nobody!
Posted by Peter in Opinion under Adur | Council Watch | Local Government & Democracy | Tories | Youth | on Aug 23 2007
Dear Editor,
How great to read a letter like that of J. Martin [August 9th edition] it shows that some is taking notice of the changes taking place in Adur’s administration.
I will try to answer his questions since there is nothing forthcoming from the council, it should be noted that these decisions have been made in the two year period between elections, therefore they have not been published in a manifesto and councilors or candidates have not been on the doorstep to explain. It is also noticeable that there have been no street surgeries so avoiding questions and the answers.
Who gave permission--- nobody !
How much will the council tax be reduced--- This is unlikely since the savings forecast for the first two years have to provide the funds to pay redundancies and for early retirements
The proposal to change to a Cabinet system--- the writer is correct the power will be in the hands of the few, rendering remaining councilors virtually impotent.
If there is a political power change a reversal of the system is currently estimated to cost four hundred and ninety thousands, it should be borne in mind that a change at Worthing could have an impact on this.
These changes are no longer proposals, it is a done deal and the benefits are unlikely to come to the council tax payer, the benefits will be gained by the senior staff who are retained on higher salaries, they will be acting for the larger populace to which the salary scales are set, and the councilors who are promoted to the cabinet. Somewhere along the line someone may gain some Brownie points.
Lastly when asked how much all this work has cost a senior councilor explained that there had been grants of public funds available. Of course it is Joe Public who provides these.
I hope J. Martin finds that my comments help, should they not he can contact his two councilors, there are two for each ward it happens they are Tories and responsible for the changes.
Lastly, wheelie bins have been driven by the Health and Safety problems encountered by our hard working refuse teams.
