The Monday meeting was again not very well attended. With less Council Officers and Councillors, though there was a few Council candidates in attendance, the numbers seem to have diminished again. These are about to become very important meetings under the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament.
The meeting itself. The Police did a very good presentation pointing out recorded crime is falling in St Neots. The Night Time Economy stats show St Neots being rather peaceable at night with less crime than other Towns within the Division. Rather good to know. There was concern was over parking at The Paddocks. Not much the police can do unless County decides to put in parking restrictions.
We had a presentation from Youth Development about the changes going on and the cuts to services. The main point seems to be the Skateboard Park which riled a couple of residents.
There was a Budget update from the County Council from Cllr Hutton who made a very good presentation listing some of the cuts coming to St Neots, which was mainly the buses. Cllr Hutton said she would fight for money from the New Homes Bonus the County was getting to come to St Neots.
There was a Budget update from the District Council which looked at the cuts. Cllr Rogers said the New Homes Bonus would be spread around the District rather than to the areas where the New Homes Bonus is coming from. HDC's St Neots Customer Service Centre will be saved from the cuts but with some reductions. Some bits over Ian Leatherbarrow's MBA on the rates and whether Chief officers should have credit cards.
A man from Luminus gave a presentation of Neighbourhood Management in Eynesbury which seemed to about the awards given out to 28 various groups. Not much about Neighbourhood Management.
There were a few Neighbourhood issues and nothing really on future issues.
The date of the next meeting is 25th July 2011 at the Great Gransden Meeting Room.
I don't know what the answer is to attendance. It seems when there is a big issue like wind farms lots of people turn up. Whatever HDC is doing now isn't making the ordinary public want to attend these meetings.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Postal votes are being sent out today.
With postal votes being sent out voting for the elections on 5th May starts today. Now postal votes are used by a significant number of electors, the actual knocking up of postal voters should start soon. The political parties should do this to ensure their likely voters have returned their postal votes.
Since I'm voting when I receive my postal vote, what have the candidates informed me about the local elections. So far I've only received a leaflet from the Liberal Democrats. I haven't received anything from the Conservatives about their policies and pledges. Nor anything about their candidates.
This side of elections is often overlooked. As postal voters are more likely to have voted their significance is normally higher than the normal supporter who has to go to the polling station.
The introduction of easy postal votes, by Labour, should have changed campaign strategy. But doesn't seem to have got to Huntingdonshire yet with the Conservatives.
Since I'm voting when I receive my postal vote, what have the candidates informed me about the local elections. So far I've only received a leaflet from the Liberal Democrats. I haven't received anything from the Conservatives about their policies and pledges. Nor anything about their candidates.
This side of elections is often overlooked. As postal voters are more likely to have voted their significance is normally higher than the normal supporter who has to go to the polling station.
The introduction of easy postal votes, by Labour, should have changed campaign strategy. But doesn't seem to have got to Huntingdonshire yet with the Conservatives.
Grafham or St Neots?
Whilst looking through nominations I found this. Ian Gardener is standing for Grafham Parish council and for St Neots Town Council Priory Park ward this time for the Conservatives.
So if there was a clash of meetings which would you go to Ian? Grafham or St Neots.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
First election leaflet through from the Liberal Democrats
The large red square on the front comparing St Neots Town Council with other Town Councils is very good.
The leaflet sets out some key aims, but no real specific promises. Only general promises on what a Liberal Democrat run Town Council will do.
The only statement to take issue with is:
The Liberal Democrats seem to continue to court the Labour supporters with:
A very good leaflet from the Liberal Democrats hitting at the Conservatives.
The Conservatives: The Town Council alternative?
Every 4 years the electors of St Neots have a chance to change the Town Council and change the course that is steered by the Town Council. So I thought I would look at the current opposition group and how they have performed over the last few years to see whether they should be "given a chance"?
The Conservatives have 5 members out of 18 on the Town Council. Of the 5 Cllr Harty is a County Councillor and is also a District Councillor along with Cllrs Ursell and Chapman. Cllr Bird (Leader) and Arnold are just Town Councillors. They are not without influence. Cllr Bird is Chairman of the (useless) Planning Committee. Cllr Chapman is Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee. Cllr Ursell is Chairman of the Swimming Pool Trust.
Given this wealth of experience and knowledge the Conservatives should be ripping the Liberal Democrats apart. But they aren't.
Whilst bleating on about Council Tax the Conservatives have yet to come up with an alternative budget. Despite the fact that much of the budget is in the public domain.
Calling for a Church Car Park to be funded by the Town Council despite the fact the Church in Eaton Socon had the money to resurface what is essentially their car park. Will all other Church Car Parks be resurfaced at the Council taxpayers expense?
Money set aside specifically for annexed residents from Eynesbury Hardwicke Parish and St Neots Rural Parish. This is because the residents have no extra services for paying the new rate of Council Tax - the same as the rest of St Neots. This is the politics of envy. What has been missed out is these two areas had functioning Parish Councils. If these had provided services then St Neots was bound in law to take these on. Former EHPC residents paid nil to their Parish Council in the final year. If the Conservatives are going to set up a specific fund for these areas why not the rest of Eynesbury. Indeed is this Conservative policy to have funds for each area of the Town?
Whilst I question the "need" that Eynesbury needs a Community Centre the Liberal Democrats did a least try to get the project off with putting £60,000 aside. The Conservatives tried and failed to move this money to Love's Farm. So the Liberal Democrats put money aside for Eynesbury, which the Conservatives have been calling for and when they do that the Conservatives attempt to move the money to Love's Farm.
HDC is going to try and dump a whole load of services it currently runs onto the Town Council. This is a Conservative stealth tax on the Towns. The Conservatives lied about the transfer of the toilets dumping the service and trying to blame the Liberal Democrats for not initially taking them on at a cost of £30,000 to the St Neots Council Taxpayer. What about the rest of these services HDC is looking for St Neots Town Council (therefore the St Neots council taxpayer) to contribute too?
Car Parking fiasco. This blog took the view that it was right in the circumstances of the failing HDC budget that the Riverside and Cambridge Street car parks should be charged for. Neither political party came up with real alternatives to the charges. What the St Neots conservative Councillors did was a pantomime. Despite the fact that many are members of HDC there was little to be done. Rather than explain why these charges were being introduced the Conservatives went off on an anti charges campaign which fell flat on it face. The charges were introduced. Cllr Farrer even went as far as syaing we was considering going Independent if 3 hours free wasn't introduced. Needless to say this proposal was rejected and Cllr Farrer is still a member of the Conservative group.
What of the future? The Conservatives are silent on this. They have the budget but have no alternative. They have the Forward Plan but have no alternative. Really the Conservatives have no alternative plans to what the Liberal Democrats are doing. If they have the Conservatives aren't informing the electorate of these plans.
Needless to say, but I will, the main problem is whether a Conservative run Town Council will kowtow to the Conservative run HDC or will it stand up for St Neots. On past experience a Conservative run Town Council will kowtow and any opposition will be a pantomime.
The Conservatives have 5 members out of 18 on the Town Council. Of the 5 Cllr Harty is a County Councillor and is also a District Councillor along with Cllrs Ursell and Chapman. Cllr Bird (Leader) and Arnold are just Town Councillors. They are not without influence. Cllr Bird is Chairman of the (useless) Planning Committee. Cllr Chapman is Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee. Cllr Ursell is Chairman of the Swimming Pool Trust.
Given this wealth of experience and knowledge the Conservatives should be ripping the Liberal Democrats apart. But they aren't.
Whilst bleating on about Council Tax the Conservatives have yet to come up with an alternative budget. Despite the fact that much of the budget is in the public domain.
Calling for a Church Car Park to be funded by the Town Council despite the fact the Church in Eaton Socon had the money to resurface what is essentially their car park. Will all other Church Car Parks be resurfaced at the Council taxpayers expense?
Money set aside specifically for annexed residents from Eynesbury Hardwicke Parish and St Neots Rural Parish. This is because the residents have no extra services for paying the new rate of Council Tax - the same as the rest of St Neots. This is the politics of envy. What has been missed out is these two areas had functioning Parish Councils. If these had provided services then St Neots was bound in law to take these on. Former EHPC residents paid nil to their Parish Council in the final year. If the Conservatives are going to set up a specific fund for these areas why not the rest of Eynesbury. Indeed is this Conservative policy to have funds for each area of the Town?
Whilst I question the "need" that Eynesbury needs a Community Centre the Liberal Democrats did a least try to get the project off with putting £60,000 aside. The Conservatives tried and failed to move this money to Love's Farm. So the Liberal Democrats put money aside for Eynesbury, which the Conservatives have been calling for and when they do that the Conservatives attempt to move the money to Love's Farm.
HDC is going to try and dump a whole load of services it currently runs onto the Town Council. This is a Conservative stealth tax on the Towns. The Conservatives lied about the transfer of the toilets dumping the service and trying to blame the Liberal Democrats for not initially taking them on at a cost of £30,000 to the St Neots Council Taxpayer. What about the rest of these services HDC is looking for St Neots Town Council (therefore the St Neots council taxpayer) to contribute too?
Car Parking fiasco. This blog took the view that it was right in the circumstances of the failing HDC budget that the Riverside and Cambridge Street car parks should be charged for. Neither political party came up with real alternatives to the charges. What the St Neots conservative Councillors did was a pantomime. Despite the fact that many are members of HDC there was little to be done. Rather than explain why these charges were being introduced the Conservatives went off on an anti charges campaign which fell flat on it face. The charges were introduced. Cllr Farrer even went as far as syaing we was considering going Independent if 3 hours free wasn't introduced. Needless to say this proposal was rejected and Cllr Farrer is still a member of the Conservative group.
What of the future? The Conservatives are silent on this. They have the budget but have no alternative. They have the Forward Plan but have no alternative. Really the Conservatives have no alternative plans to what the Liberal Democrats are doing. If they have the Conservatives aren't informing the electorate of these plans.
Needless to say, but I will, the main problem is whether a Conservative run Town Council will kowtow to the Conservative run HDC or will it stand up for St Neots. On past experience a Conservative run Town Council will kowtow and any opposition will be a pantomime.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Annual Town Meeting
With the civic year already mainly completed why does the Town Council wait until April to set a date for the Annual Town Meeting? Also why does it have to be in tandem with the Annual Council Meeting which follows.
Last year Cllr Thorpe tried to have the Annual Town Meeting on the night of the General election. It was even published in Priorites. But it was changed.
So why have these meetings in tandem? The Annual Town Meeting is an important civic event where the Town can get together and ask questions and pass motions on any subject affecting the Town. By putting the Town Meeting in front of the Annual Council Meeting there is already time pressure on the Town Meeting to conclude.
The Annual Council Meeting is a civic event by itself. Instead of running both on one evening they should be split. The Annual Town Meeting has to be held between 1st March and 31st May each year.
Putting this Annual Meeting before the Annual Council meeting does the people of St Neots a disservice. The Annual Town Meeting should be separate from the Annual Council Meeting. They are able to achieve this in other Town Councils. Why is St Neots left to second best?
The Liberal Democrats: Are they all bad?
The Liberal Democrats have been running the Town Council for the last 4 years. This has been with 13 Councillors to the conservative opposition of 5. A very healthy majority of 8. So the Liberal Democrats have really themselves to blame if their policies haven't been pushed through.
Being in opposition is easy. Being in Government is hard. That is the lesson for the last 4 years.
The two damning audit reports. Very little of this has actually made the headlines. What made the headlines was the missing loan. Yet this was an historic event. The Town Council was paying the loan. It was the outstanding amount that wasn't accounted for. Actually very minor. Whilst many historic problems arose it wasn't this I had a go at the Liberal Democrats about. It was the handling and secrecy surrounding this resolution of these problems that should be held against the Town Council.
The Liberal Democrats started in a bad position. They had minimal reserves and were using these reserves to keep council tax down. This is really a no-no. When reserves run out either Council Tax has to rise steeply or services have to be cut. In charge of this was Cllrs Giles and Thorpe. Leader and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the now defunct Policy and Resources Committee and, for a year, Leader and Deputy Leader of the Town Council. They were in charge.
Much of why I feel the both Giles and Thorpe should have resigned is in this blog.
Instead of taking stock they went on an expansionist plan without the resources to implement those plans. This from the Liberal Democrats which set up the Policy and Resources Committee. In the end it was their inability to do the right thing that was their downfall. Except Cllr Thorpe was made Town Mayor after this mess.
To get out of this mess Giles and Thorpe dumped many of the essential projects such as the Town Plan without any notice. Policy and Resources meetings were simply not held or when they were Council finances were not discussed.
In the end the Town Council was just labelled a:
No Councillor resigned because of this. Officers went but no Town Councillor stood up and took responsibility for this mess. Indeed Cllr Thorpe became Town Mayor. Derek Giles has decided not to stand this time around.
The loss of Quality Status was a blow. But this was to be expected after two damning audit reports and the Town Council has come on since it was a "Shambles". The regaining of the Quality Status was a bung by CPALC.
Is the Liberal Democrat run Town Council perfect? I don't believe it is. What I do take on board is this Town Council has moved on from Shambles to a better place. In many respects this has been 4 wasted years by the Liberal Democrats.
Do I feel the Liberal Democrats deserve 4 more years? Well yes I do. What has changed is Derek Giles not re-standing for Town Council. With a useless lacklustre Conservative opposition I don't believe they are ready to take power and lead St Neots either. Far too many Conservatives will be sitting on two or three Councils.
What has it for the Liberal Democrats was their unwillingness to kowtow to Conservative run HDC. What also has it for the Liberal Democrats is they have turned the Town Council around.
Being in opposition is easy. Being in Government is hard. That is the lesson for the last 4 years.
The two damning audit reports. Very little of this has actually made the headlines. What made the headlines was the missing loan. Yet this was an historic event. The Town Council was paying the loan. It was the outstanding amount that wasn't accounted for. Actually very minor. Whilst many historic problems arose it wasn't this I had a go at the Liberal Democrats about. It was the handling and secrecy surrounding this resolution of these problems that should be held against the Town Council.
The Liberal Democrats started in a bad position. They had minimal reserves and were using these reserves to keep council tax down. This is really a no-no. When reserves run out either Council Tax has to rise steeply or services have to be cut. In charge of this was Cllrs Giles and Thorpe. Leader and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the now defunct Policy and Resources Committee and, for a year, Leader and Deputy Leader of the Town Council. They were in charge.
Much of why I feel the both Giles and Thorpe should have resigned is in this blog.
Instead of taking stock they went on an expansionist plan without the resources to implement those plans. This from the Liberal Democrats which set up the Policy and Resources Committee. In the end it was their inability to do the right thing that was their downfall. Except Cllr Thorpe was made Town Mayor after this mess.
To get out of this mess Giles and Thorpe dumped many of the essential projects such as the Town Plan without any notice. Policy and Resources meetings were simply not held or when they were Council finances were not discussed.
In the end the Town Council was just labelled a:
The loss of Quality Status was a blow. But this was to be expected after two damning audit reports and the Town Council has come on since it was a "Shambles". The regaining of the Quality Status was a bung by CPALC.
Is the Liberal Democrat run Town Council perfect? I don't believe it is. What I do take on board is this Town Council has moved on from Shambles to a better place. In many respects this has been 4 wasted years by the Liberal Democrats.
Do I feel the Liberal Democrats deserve 4 more years? Well yes I do. What has changed is Derek Giles not re-standing for Town Council. With a useless lacklustre Conservative opposition I don't believe they are ready to take power and lead St Neots either. Far too many Conservatives will be sitting on two or three Councils.
What has it for the Liberal Democrats was their unwillingness to kowtow to Conservative run HDC. What also has it for the Liberal Democrats is they have turned the Town Council around.
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