It never ceases to amaze me how our "beloved" and "respected" local councils deem themselves to be above the financial realities of day to day life (namely that one's expenditure should not exceed one's income).Actually, I know full well why council deem themselves to be above financial reality; they know that they can simply raise taxes (either directly via council tax, or indirectly via ludicrous fines) to cover any shortfall.
That being said the arrogance of those running our local councils does still take my breath away. The Telegraph recently reported that, despite orders to cut spending by around 30%, council executives (let us be clear it is not the councillors but the executives that they employ) are happily spending lavish sums on dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants, leisure trips and expensive gifts (eg iPads and video games).
The travel bill over the last three years has topped £2M to places such as Thailand, Kenya and Bermuda.
Councils have also spent £2M on hotel bills, £2.6M on dinners, £0.5M on gifts etc etc.
The Telegraph estimates that credit card spending by local councils over the last 3 years has topped £100M. Note, some of this will be legitimate and specifically related to genuine business expenditure.
That being said I am at a loss to understand why Horsham Council used a credit card to spend £1150 on two llamas.
The executives of local council are quite clearly taking the piss.
Councils have become the enemy of the people!
Visit The Orifice of Government Commerce and buy a collector's item.
Visit The Joy of Lard and indulge your lard fantasies.
Show your contempt for Nanny by buying a T shirt or thong from Nanny's Store.
www.nannyknowsbest.com is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Celebrate the joy of living with booze. Click and drink!
Visit Oh So Swedish Swedish arts and handicrafts
Why not really indulge yourself, by doing all the things that Nanny really hates? Click on the relevant link to indulge yourselves; Food, Bonking, Gifts and Flowers, Groceries
I may besomewhat naive, but I was under the impression that the role of council executives was to ensure that the services provided by their council proceeded smoothly and represented value for money. Precisely why then can any council executives justify swanning off (at our expense) to exotic locations like Bermuda? And why do the powers that be at Horsham feel the need to purchase two llamas? With the state of the nation's finances, they should be cutting back on expenditure and using what money they have to run decent public services. By all means, let them go on holidays to wherever takes their fancy, and let them buy as many llamas as they wish, PROVIDED that they pay for these things out of their own pockets, and don't expect anyone else to foot the bill!
ReplyDeleteThe real problem with local Nanny is that these "officers" are the ones that hold the real power but, we cannot vote them off.....We can only vote for or against the whipping boys called councillors.
ReplyDeleteI spoke recently to one of my local councillors and he stated that all too often the officers put up barriers for councillors trying to implement schemes or things the officers disagree with.
The elected councillors just rubber stamp what they are told to by the officers, who put in place what Westminster Nanny tells them to, who put in place what Brussels nanny tells them to do.
The EUSSR has elected MEPs but, they don't have the real power, it is in the hands of the secretive, hidden faces of the commission who, in my opinion, are just like the officers in our local Nanny.
Tonk said:
ReplyDelete"I spoke recently to one of my local councillors and he stated that all too often the officers put up barriers for councillors trying to implement schemes or things the officers disagree with."
It's even worse than that. There are procedures through which the Officer Mafia can have councillors removed from their positions should they become a threat or even a nuisance to the executive.
It's "democracy" Jim, but not as we know it.