Nov 2008 17

Psycho-spending4

Well done to TPA supporter Roger Baker!  He’s scored a double hit on over-spending Suffolk county council.  When we went all out to highlight and expose the £220,000 salary Andrea Hill picked up as the new chief executive of the council, the lackeys retorted that it was essential to get a quality chief executive. 

In two letters Roger has destroyed that weak excuse, which you can read at the bottom of this post.  For you see, Ms Hill is so careful with taxpayers’ money that she’s shelling out £400,000 of your money to send 1,000 council staff on a “leadership communication programme” complete with psychological testing. 

Naturally, if you think this is a bad way to spend taxpayers’ money, visit our previous blog here to hold Suffolk’s councillors to account.  If you want to contact Andrea Hill, I’m afraid you’ll have to email her through her secretary: [email protected]. 

This just shows how valuable our grassroots supporters are to the campaign.  While we can only find and do so much at the centre, you’re invaluable in being our eyes and ears on the ground.  If you spot your council behaving badly with your money, let us know like Roger did.  The more waste we dig up the more we can tell people how realistic lower taxes are.  Furthermore we can drum it into the politicians’ heads that they need to get a grip on their officer corps and stop the over-spending.  If not, they’ll have thousands of TPA emails sat in their inboxes. 

Here’s a copy of the letter Roger sent sent to Suffolk’s chief executive.  I’m sure you’ll agree it’s superb:

"Dear Mrs Hill

Congratulations ! You now have the rare distinction of having figured twice in the “Rotten Boroughs” section of “Private Eye” – see the attached copies of both articles.

You will notice that your actions have further confirmed the reputation of Suffolk as a county of “yokels” who are governed by a “Round the Bend” administration (“Private Eye’s” words, not mine).

I wrote to all recipients of this letter in the 13th October suggesting that the expenditure of £400,000 on a “communicational psychology” course was not something that should be contemplated during these straitened times, but the only reply I received was from Jeremy Pembroke who, of course, defended it to the hilt, thereby confirming the widespread belief that the elected councillors’ motto is “Fill your boots – it’s only taxpayers’ money, and there’s always more where that came from”

When are you going to start behaving in a manner which portrays Suffolk in a positive light and which acknowledges that, in the real world outside the public sector, taxpayers are suffering?

Yours sincerely

Roger Baker"

Councillors and officers – you have been warned!

Click to enlarge:

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  • Hardeep_Singh

    In a word Bravo !

  • Peter Phillips

    More ‘Common Purpose’ deliberate destruction of our institutions and society. The wretched woman should be sacked – without a penny of compensation of course.

  • Peter Phillips

    More ‘Common Purpose’ deliberate destruction of our institutions and society. The wretched woman should be sacked – without a penny of compensation of course.

  • Andrew Smith

    I attended the official opening of a conference centre in Lowestoft whose purpose was stated to be making Lowestoft the world capital of renewable energy. Needless to say it was financed by tax payers and it needs tenants badly. Most of the 200+ guests appeared to be on public sector payrolls; I wonder if an FOI request would yield an answer?
    However, the CEO of Suffolk was in attendance for some hours. At one stage I noticed her in a small room on her own looking out to sea. I was surprised that such a self-proclaimed high flier would not be surrounded by other public sector employees trying to learn her salary negotiating techniques, if nothing else.