Wasted Money

This is an article that appeared in the local Observer on 22nd February 2007:

£4,500,000 cost of council's management and pool contract cock-ups OPPOSITION councillors last night blasted East Herts District Council's Tory top brass for landing council tax payers with a £4.5m bill for two major shambles. Liberal Democrats revealed the full cost under the Conservative administration of restructuring the council's management hierarchy - twice in six years - and sorting out the collapse of its contracting out of the running of its swimming pools and gyms. They claimed that if the money had not been wasted "there would be no need for a council tax rise at all from April". Ahead of last night's EHDC 2007-08 budget-setting meeting, which was due to approve a 4.58 per cent rise in its portion of the council tax bills, opposition leader Cllr Mike Wood and fellow Bishop's Stortford Lib Dem Andy Graham exclusively revealed their figures to the Observer. They claimed the management shake-up had cost £3m over six years - equivalent to taking £52 from each household in East Herts, said Cllr Wood - "and we're back where we started". In addition, they said, the council had overspent in the current financial year by £1.5m largely because of the final costs of the reorganisation and pools and gyms contractor Aspire going into liquidation. Cllr Wood said that the council's leaders were "not fit for purpose" while Cllr Graham attacked them for "mismanagement of the council's resources". But they said they would not be calling at last night's meeting for the Tories to resign or for a vote of no confidence. "I think the electorate will have their vote of no confidence this time," said Cllr Graham, referring to May's local elections. In 2001, EHDC switched from a management set-up of a chief executive and four directors to one of two joint executive directors, Rachel Stoppard and Miranda Steward. But they fell out spectacularly amid accusations of bullying and the council has reverted to a system of a single chief executive and three directors. Of this year's £1.5m overspend, nearly £700,000 is to pay for finally settling the affair, the Lib Dems revealed, and £420,000 attributable to the failed leisure centres contract. Stevenage Leisure Ltd has temporarily taken over running the council's pools and gyms, including Grange Paddocks, in Stortford, and Leventhorpe, Sawbridgeworth. EHDC said two weeks ago that it was taking £1.4m from reserves to keep the council tax rise as low as it could. It said its overspend this year would be £873,000 - including £622,000 for the management reorganisation - and that the Aspire fiasco had cost a total of £300,000. perrys@hertsessexnews.co.uk   22 February 2007

This is a letter published in The Observer and The Mercury the following week:

Dear Sir The Liberal Democrats’ estimate of £4.5m as the cost of political incompetence at East Herts Council may be over the top, but what we do know is that since 2002 the Council’s Reserves have dropped by £3.2m. To add insult to injury, Cllr Jackson, the Leader of the Council gets an annual allowance of £31,644, his Deputy Cllr Alexander gets £21,096, and the Executive Members get £18,459 each. In 1999 when I was first elected, Councillor annual allowances totalled £70,000 for postage and telephone, and now the total is over £450,000. We have sold off the housing stock, outsourced a number of services, so why do Councillors need in 2007 to be paid large sums to do less work than in 1999? If the figures had remained at 1999 levels, there would have been a further saving of about £2m.  Why have we heard little about this? Elected members have generally been happy to take the Party shilling (in fact £5,274 each) and dissent is gagged by the Party Whip.  Some Town and Parish Councillors may do more work than some East Herts Councillors, but get nothing. We urgently need to find good people to stand as Independent Candidates for election to East Herts Council. Independents can speak out because they are not controlled by a party machine. I am finding that there are many good articulate people who could make a fantastic difference in the Council, but who will not associate themselves with any of the national political parties. Ruth Kelly has launched an initiative to persuade more people in full-time employment, more young people, more women and more ethnic minorities to become Councillors. If any of your readers are interested, I can help them fight an election campaign as an Independent candidate. East Herts People is in effect a service organisation to promote Independents. You do not have to identify with EHP, you can simply be an Independent, but we can help you, finance you, advise you and be your Election Agent. See www.EHPeople.org or telephone 01992 310097 and ask for a free copy of our ‘Cartoon Guide to Being a Councillor’. Your readers should ask their sitting councillors what they were doing when all the money was being wasted – if they won’t tell, I will, and your readers should vote for someone else this time. It is important for the future of voters’ personal bank balances that this lot are kicked out and all political parties get a clear message that this sort of incompetence, cover-up and greed always gets short shrift from the voters. Votes on 3 May 2007 really will matter this time. Yours sincerely Cllr Jim Thornton Independent (Conservative), Hertford Castle Ward Leader, East Herts People