This week has been a very busy one. Firstly it started with the election packs coming out for candidates for the local elections in May. we have collected ours for our candidates which we will be fielding. I remember in 2001 when I first decided to run as Councillor and I had no idea what to do to get on the ballot paper. If there is anyone who was like me back in 2001 to get on the ballot paper and in the race go to the Town Hall and ask for the elections office and ask for a pack for the ward you are interested in. Once you get that you need 10 people in that Ward to support your nomination by simply signing the nomination paper and bang you are in the race, subject to you putting it back in on time.
Wednesday saw the Full Council meeting which was discussing the budget. Whilst it is good that the Council have decided not to raise the Council Tax for next year I do believe that they could have done more to either cut the Council Tax or spend more on areas of concerns. Whilst the big issues always get the headlines one things that do not do get to people. One big issues is pot holes. The Council are looking to spend £500 000 on these in the next year. That is crazy! Another area is Library's. The other week I was coming out of my weekly surgery at the Library when a young girl, probably about 4 or 5 asking for a Rupert the Bear book and they had none. Not a one! I do believe that catching and encouraging youngsters to read is a thing to do and when they want children's classics then the Library should have them.
Whilst talking about Library's it is important to say that years ago the Council set up something called Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust. This was so the Council didn't have to pay VAT on some items. Now didn't Labour call famous people for dodging tax? Anyway what is important is the Council gives money to this organisation which is owned by the Council to run their Leisure services and they too can charge for things to get more of an income but yet they do not have to disclose hardly any Financial information. This was the organisations that wasted over £500 000 on pop concerts at Haigh Hall that flopped. I would sack these people that continuously waste Wigan Taxpayers money without any accountability.
During the meeting there was an item about an opposition Cllr who had been found guilty by a Labour Quango. The complaint was about he did a stupid thing were he used a legitimate email and turned it into an email saying that a Council officer favoured the Labour Councillors over opposition. it was stupid. When the Council heard the allegation it was so poorly done that they spotted it straight away. The Council say that if this had been proven the officer concerned would have been sacked. That never would have happened as he hadn't done it and the fake email was so poorly done it was easy to spot. However, the Council reported him to the Police and splattered all over the press. The police decided that there was not enough evidence so did not take it any further. The Council and it seems the Chief executive are incensed and one Labour Councillor said that they should ask questions on the police and the Crown. what a disgrace, just because they don't like their decision. Labour, the Council and the Chief Executive should respect their decision.
About the Chief Executive and respecting peoples decisions, since the Full Council meeting she has publically told people to vote Labour by saying that the complaints are costing the Council a huge amounts of money. These complaints are made by a small number of opposition Councillors and people shouldn't vote for them. The thing is the Chief Executive shouldn't get involved in politics! Then she should't be telling people how to vote and who to vote for. Finally, she should also respect whoever the public vote for in an election. She wrote in the press that the two previous Chief Executives had the same problem but yet in their combine years as Chief Executive's they never put ONE complainant in against any Councillors and this, to me, proves how they could work impartially. In 2012 the Chief Executive issued a letter to Labour for their leaflet saying that I was telling lies on Ashfield. One, I had the emails from Council officers proving that they met with developers on the matter and the head of the planning saying it was a good idea. They simply think by trying to lie and say it is not true people will not believe them. I remember when I said about Mere Oaks closing and Labour said in a leaflet that it was not true and I was lying. Anyone seen Mere Oaks laterly? O sorry it was closed and closed displacing all the students and replaced by houses. In the running battle of emails between me and the Chief Executive in 2012 I accused her of being a Labour member and part of their hierarchy. Here is what I said, "you are not only a Labour Party member but also a member of the hierarchy". Her response was, "You are right though that I am part of the hierarchy as Chief Executive." It is about time that officers stayed as officers and didn't get involved in politics and stayed as public servants rather than trying to medal in politics. What interests me is have Labour asked her to try and discredit opposition Councillors for them or does she do it on her own back to try and impress Labour by saying look at what I do for you. To me she is out of her depths Labour should have hired a Chief Executive with much experience at big Councils, like the two previous Chief Executives.
