Once again the District Council Budget has been set.
As a previous member of the then ruling Labour Group, I was interested to hear their Leader propose a rise of 2.1% on the grounds that we should think of the ratepayers of Thanet!
This was the same individual who presided over a 11% rise in one year back in the late 90's,early 00's.
I am no financial wizard, but I do know that people want better services, how should we pay for them?
5 comments:
Ken I noticed the top paid 19 council officers seem to be getting an average wage of over £70,000 pa more say than Canterbury council’s top brains, yet Thanet is a much poorer area with a lower cost of living.
By the way my isps are aol and O2 for mobile internet however I don’t post anonymously.
Michael,
Point taken, but if we want quality we have to pay for it.
Ken you really hit the nail on the head, I recon anyone who we are paying in the region of £1,500 per week should be both highly qualified, experienced and be able to justify to us that we are getting value for money.
Ken, what was the first rise in the first year of your tory chums taking office.
What would help is if the council realised that cheapest does not mean best. Some of the groups the council employ are not fit for purpose (and that's putting it mildly). The worst thing is that the people checking the work of the people employed by the council are the people doing the work. Talk about leaving the wolf to guard the sheep!
Trust? Oh yes of course I... Oh, wait...
Most of what I hear being said about council contractors is unprintable but the general feeling is that when it comes to buildings maintenance: "of course it's crap - the council did it". "Council worker" is used in some parts to mean something akin to "utterly useless at their job". The expectation is that the work carried out on say, council housing, will need to be re-done if possible or covered over the first opportunity.
On the ground, where the rubber hits the road, the council has a reputation that would send a business bankrupt. I suggest, therefore, that the extra money be used to hire independent reviewers of works and contractors. It's long overdue.
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