99DylanJones
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Getting back to the theme of the thread- Council Scrutiny have this afternoon referred
the Leisure Centre closure back to the Executive and the Budget meting this evening has been very heated.
Councilors today have realized that they have to be accountable to the people of Wrexham and not just to their Political Party. Politicians are elected to represent the electorate not toe party lines.
Councilors who have found themselves in the middle of a political hot potato are being paid so they should seek ALL facts to make decisionsThe facility is a regional prison — it is not just for Wrexham or North Wales — the whole Prison Service reform of the prisons across the UK has resulted in the one coming to Wrexham.
Wrexham is approximately one hours drive time from three of the locations that have either closed or due for closure.I think you will find that the said consultant actually did a very good job and looked at all aspects of transport in WCBC and identified in the region of £800k by completely reorganizing everything from school transport (nearly 1000 separate taxi contracts used to exist),through to the Mayors car. His downfall was that he also included the travel mileage for Council Members, mangers and staff — this was fatal as it was going to affect the decision makers in the Council- he actually dug too deep. Time the report was released under an FOI as it has been firmly buried under a carpet in the Guildhall.
Very few of the Prison Officer positions will be new– the opening of Wxm Prison will result in 3 others closed in Liverpool, Manchester and Stafford area. Many of the ‘domestic’ jobs – kitchen, cleaning etc will be undertaken by prisoners as part of their rehabilitation.
Were is the consultation from the Council — has anyone asked the Council Tax payers if they would pay more to save services.
This is a much bigger issue than Waterworld the principle of open , transparent government for Wrexham is at stake. Why elect 52 Councilors when only 10 make a decision.Thanks for your comments and ‘corrections’ you clearly have Union connections. I am not aware that I have at any time indicted that employee settlements should be public as I firmly believe that is a personal matter as you point out. I am also not disputing the legislation I do think that ratepayers are entitled to know what is being paid on their ‘behalf’.
As far as Unions keeping quiet – is it not normal for a Union to sway public opinion in their favor particularly when it involves the loss of service for the general public. In the current environment of Public Sector cuts they could gain significant public support to try and reduce the impact.The latest information obtained by the Save Plas Madoc Group shows the level of spending that goes on behind the golden doors of the Guildhall, what they have unearthed on their site [url]http://savepllc,wordpress.com/scandal[/url] is nit just a scandal but maladministration. How can any officer or Council Member sign a contract that gives such large bonuses for the removal of services. There should be further investigation and officers and Members brought to account giving a full list of all of these contracts. £2 million spent on consultants- how much was bonuses– and are these on top of their £2 million fees.
How many more excess expenditure items have there been- bring these under control and you start achieving some of the necessary cost savings (which previous writer has been looking for).Silence is based on self preservation of Union officials jobs and their office in the Council. It is astonishing that any Union fees are collected from Council staff as they are currently operating in silence. The Unions in Wrexham Council have made no public comment about all the staff losses since the Voluntary Redundancy was offered in the summer. They potentially have about 80 members who could loose their jobs at Libraries, Leisure, Community Centres etc yet they make no comment. Staff are left in the dark and don’t even know what goes on in the meetings between the Council and the Union officers.
In the days when Clr David Griffiths was a Union Convenor in the hospital this would never have happened– David was noted for his strong but fair stance with management – it’s a pity that this fairness is not being played out with the unions today..
Dylan JonesI would like to challenge the Esclusham Community Council or Council Member Mark Pritchard for Rhostyllen to respond to the concerns expressed in my earlier Posting.
There are a few points to raise about the massive cuts required:
1. Most other Local Authorities in Wales are not cutting to the same level — in most instances they have never gone to the route of expansion with no sustainability. Project funding was used appropriately with time limited projects in other Authorities where as in Wrexham once you are an employee you almost have protection for life.
2. Wrexham have made no reference at any time to the use of reserves.#
3. Why is it that so much has gone over budget over the past few years – starting with the Superschool budget fiasco and continued ever since — many of the officers and Members who where involved in the past are the same ones today presiding over these cuts..
4. Why should we as ratepayers be paying another 3.5% (if the budget goes through this week this will be the rate) for significantly less services.
WAKE UP WREXHAM RESIDENTS YOUR FUTURE IS BEING DECIDED 6.00PM AT THE GUILDHALL– BE THERE AT 5.30PM IF YOU WANT TO GET A SEAT TO LISTEN TO THE BUDGET DEBATE.
