The Tory controlled Borough Council is skint and are doing anything and everything to save money. I’ve already mentioned the fiasco of the appointment of the new Chief Executive and the increase in car parking charges in Stone. Add to the equation the increase in burial and cremation charges - and don’t forget that the new Blue Bin collection scheme was the cheapest option on offer. And just when you think you are coming to terms with all that, a Tory councillor ‘lets the cat out of the bag’ by admitting that the Tory group have already agreed to close the toilets in Station Road. Yes! Geof Collier probably spoke out of turn when he informed us of this fact at the last Estates Sub Committee!

Which all goes to explain why the Town Council had been approached by the Borough to see whether we would be interested in taking over the management of the toilets. The Sub Committeee was unanimous in agreeing that the Station Road toilets must be kept open. With the increase in visitors to the town resulting from our extra markets and events now taking place we were all agreed that closing the toilets would be a retrograde step.

However the financial implications need to be studied in some detail before any final decisions can me made. But everyone was agreed that if we do take over responsibility, the toilets will need to be refurbished and maintained to a much better standard than exists at present.

As a member of Stafford Borough Council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee, I heard an update on the new recycling and refuse collection  arrangements at last night’s meeting in Stafford. We were given a presentation showing the results of the first two week’s operation and very impressive it was too! Recyclables are up 66% and garden waste and cardboard up over 50%. And if these figures are maintained Stafford Borough will jump up the ‘league tables’ for recycling from fairly near the bottom up to among the top three authorities in Staffordshire. Of course there have been teething problems (including an unanswered complaint from me a fortnight ago!) but it looks as if most issues have been sorted. I was pleased to hear that all the new vehicles had been delivered and that the difficulties around Stonefield Park were being resolved.

And I am fairly confident we may be able to persuade an officer from the Borough - and perhaps one from the County - to come to Stone and give a presentation at a public meeting. I explained to the committee that I had been asked by several people what happened to all the different recycled materials after they had been collected and that I felt there were many who were genuinely interested in recycling and would be interested in learning more. The reaction was positive so I intend to follow up the idea. Watch this space!

Ian Thompson was appointed Chief Executive of Stafford Borough Council at last night’s Borough Council meeting after a heated and controversial debate. On a named vote his appointment was approved solely on the votes of the ruling Tory group whilst every Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillor voted against the appointment.

In the course of the debate, an amendment proposed by Barry Stamp, leader of the Liberal Democrat group and seconded by me, to reinstate the Selection Procedure, abandoned a couple of weeks ago, was defeated by the Tory group. A vote of no confidence in the Cabinet Leader, Cllr. Judith Dalgarno, was also defeated. However, the Tories will be under no illusions after this debate. The opposition parties are united in their condemnation of the manner of this appointment.

I, personally,  am appalled at the manner of this appointment and by the arrogance of the Tory cabinet and its leader. That a democratic selection procedure should be halted in its tracks and an in-house appointment be proposed without reference to Appointments Panel or the Group Leaders is a staggering abuse of the ruling party’s majority.

Stafford Borough Council will now be led by a Chief Executive whose selection was determined by the Tory group primarily on the cost savings involved. We shall never know what talent existed in the short listed candidates we never interviewed so we will never know whether the new Chief Executive was the best man for the job. I fear this selection has done Stafford Borough Councils reputation considerable harm and I worry that Mr Thompson’s tenure  has been made all the more difficult by the fiasco of his appointment.

Last night’s Borough Council meeting provided the perfect example of the Tory’s view of democracy. In their book, democracy means that you win control and then adopt the ‘winner takes all’ philosophy. You stifle debate and use your majority to force through two important issues in under fifty minutes.

The first major debate was in relation to the debacle about appointing a new Chief Executive. As regular readers will know, the appointments process was put ‘on hold’ after it was announced that Cannock Chase District Council had approached Stafford with a view to sharing back office functions and possibly the position of Chief Executive. Then, within days, Cannock Chase very publicly called off the discussions.

Not surprisingly, the Labour group put down a question to allow a debate to take place about the whole embarrassing situation. Under the ten minute rule, it was possible to extend the time limit but - no - the Conservatives out voted the proposal to extend time. So all we really learnt was that the discussions with Cannock were back on as were discussions with ‘another local authority’. And the Tory leader tried to explain away the problem by referring to the approach from Cannock as being ‘informal’. That’s the first time I’d heard that description and I don’t recall it being so described in any press releases! So ten minutes was all that allowed to discuss this important issue - well, actually that’s not quite right because the Tory leader managed to keep talking for at least another minute after her allotted time. What a shambles!

And the budget debate was over and done with in the blink of an eye! It seems that the Tory mantra is ” we’ve presented a balanced budget”. Of course they have! They are required, by law, to do so! Whilst I do have some sympathy for the Tories who are having to balance the books after an appalling government settlement, the facts are very simple. Their stubbornness in refusing to levy a proper level of Council Tax in the last four years has come back to haunt them. And I hate to think how they can now hope to balance the books over the next few years.

The main item on the agenda of last night’s meeting was the 2008/9 budget. This had already been discussed at the Budget sub committee last week and was now before the all councillors for approval. I was delighted to chair a meeting at which no serious objection was mounted to our proposals. We encountered the usual bluster from Cllr. Jones but he clearly hadn’t got his heart in it. He can be quite amusing but, sadly, very predictable!

And I was absolutely delighted that all councillors agreed with a request that I made for a grant to Andy Whitehall’s boxing venture, The Right Stuff. Technically, I should have waited for the next Management Sub Committee meeting and asked for the request to be placed on it’s agenda. Then the minutes would have been presented to the following Genaral Purposes Committee for approval and then the minutes of the GP committee would have been placed before the next meeting of the full Town Council for approval before a cheque could have been drawn! Life is too short! Thankfully, everyone agreed that it was a case that should be ’short circuited’ and we all agreed that the sum of £500 should be immediately handed over. A wonderful gesture that will be appreciated by the youngsters who are involved in the scheme.

Apart from a few minor skirmishes, everything went through according to plan.

Life is never boring as a councillor. And there are times when you wonder whether you have time to take breath!

Take the last two days for example. On Tuesday morning I was in Stafford to sit on the appointments panel tasked with the job of selecting the new Chief Executive for the Borough Council. The meeting had been underway about an hour and a half when the Chair, Cllr. Judith Dalgarno, announced that the process was to be suspended. The Borough Council was negotiating with Cannock Chase District Council about the possibility of sharing ‘back office’ facilities (a euphemism for job cuts?) and possibly sharing a Chief Executive. I’ll be writing again about this in a lot more detail when I have a few quiet moments.

Then in the evening it was down to the Town Council chamber for two sub committee meetings. We are fast approaching ‘Budget Day’ when the Town Council fixes it’s precept, so these meetings enable sub committees to put in a bid for budgets for next year’ projects.

Then on Wednesday meeting I was off up to the Potteries for a piece of private business and then straight back to Bromfield Court where Age Concern put on a New Year Thank You party for those of us who volunteer throughout the year. Then down to town for a meeting of the Anti-Social Behaviour Group - again I’ll try to post a more detailed item about this meeting later. Then straight down to Stafford for an adjourned hearing of a case before the Public Appeals Committee of the Borough Council.

Then it was up to Stone again for more two more evening sub committee meetings to deal with next year’s budget. There will be a meeting of Committee chairmen next week to finalise the whole budget and then it will be placed before the full council in a couple of weeks time.

No wonder I was ready for a pint in Granvilles afterwards! And no wonder I’ve overslept this morning!

Last night’s Borough Council meeting was a pantomime - and that’s being kind. What a disgraceful spectacle it was. It even made Prime Minister’s Question-time on the television look tame. Grown men and women shouting across the chamber at each other - yaa-boo politics at it’s worse. Have I really been campaigning for years so that I could join this menagerie?

And to make matters worse, we witnessed the best example possible of party politics taking precedence over local issues. One item on the agenda involved approval of the proposed  increases in car parking charges. Philip Leason and I asked that the charges for Stone’s car parks be reconsidered. We argued that increases of 100% and 200% were totally unacceptable and that the increases would have a detrimental effect upon the town’s economy. When the matter was put to the vote, we were supported by the Labour group but - surprise, surprise - the controlling Tory group voted against us. This was hardly surprising but what was a surprise was to see two Stone Tory members, Cllrs. Joyce Farnham and Philip Jones, voting the party line in favour of the increases. We now know where their loyalties lie!

During the debate, Cllr. Doug Davies who is the Tory cabinet member responsible for the car parks, said he would not reconsider the charges because ” it is the policy of this council to maximise income from our car parks.” So there it is in black and white! Forget providing a service or helping to regenerate our town centre. Forget encouraging tourism. It’s just about screwing the motorist - plain and simple.

The major issues discussed at last night’s meeting of Stone Town Council included the following:

• Dial A Ride - Ian Bowen of Stafford and District Community Link gave an illustrated presentation explaining how the Dial A Ride scheme operates in Stafford. It was agreed to form a small working group to see whether a similar scheme might be formed in Stone.
• Police Issues - Sgt. Dave Wain introduced Stone’s new Acting Inspector Elliot Williams. It was reported that crime in Stone had fallen by 20% and that burglary had fallen by a third. Other local issues were also raised and discussed.
• Stonefield Traffic Management Scheme was also discussed. For more details, see my more detailed posting above.
• Increase in Car Parking charges - It was agreed that the Council would ask Stafford Borough Council to defer the implementation of the 300% increase in the long stay parking charges in view of the likly impact upon the Town Council’s free car parks in Northesk Street and at Crown Wharf and also in view of the total lack of consultation.
• Stafford Road ‘rat run’ - Cllr. Jill Hood raised her continued concerns at the number of vehicles using Stafford Road as a short cut to the A34 - many at high speed. It was agreed that the County Council should be asked to position a “No Left Turn except for Access” sign before the junction and that the County be asked to consider an engineering solution to the problem by blocking or restricting access to the A34.
• Musicfest 08 - Cllr. Steve Brookes reported that good progress was being made by the music festival committee for next year’s Festival and the Council agreed a pump priming grant to enable the organisers to apply for grants elsewhere.
• Civic Amenity vehicle - in view of the fact that the new Recycling site has now opened it was agreed that the monthly visit of the amenity vehicle to Westbridge Park was no longer required. This will result in a saving of over £800 a year.