Two stories in the papers today come from the ring top circuses of Herefordshire county council and Three Rivers council. They defy belief.
Herefordshire resident Brian Hubbard has been ordered to stop cutting a grass verge outside his home because it makes the road look ‘too tidy’. In addition to cutting the verge, he picks up the litter and cleans up grass cuttings left by council grass-cutters. Clearly providing a better service, at no cost to fellow taxpayers, Herefordshire council have ordered him to stop.
Mr Hubbard received a letter from the council accusing him of ‘encroaching on council land’. Council land! Christ, if ever there were awards for public sector arrogance, Herefordshire council would sweep the board. Here is a ripe opportunity for the council to save money and agree with Mr Hubbard to let him tend to a piece of land at no cost to the taxpayer and they turn their nose up.
Kindly email the leader of Herefordshire county council, R J Phillips, and tell him to leave Mr Hubbard alone and appreciate the fact that someone has taken the task of helping their local community. You can email Cllr. Phillips through his council email address here: [email protected]. It also might be worth suggesting that if Herefordshire were more accommodating to cost cutting measures they could find a way to lower council tax next year.
The next story reveals how councils just don’t operate in the real world. Three Rivers council in Hertfordshire is allowing a senior officer a day off a week to enjoy his passion for music whilst keeping him on his ‘full time’ salary of £116,000. Usually, if you work less you should be paid less. Not so in local government. Leader of Three Rivers council, Cllr Anne Shaw, claims that allowing Stephen Halls a day off to pursue a musical interest is cheaper than sourcing and paying his replacement even more!!
Perhaps Three Rivers residents should allow Cllr Shaw more time for her to pursue her interests by throwing her ignorant, ramshackle popinjay attitude out of the council. We’re standing on the brink of a recession where you, me and everyone else in the real world will have to work longer hours and harder than we ever have. People face rising unemployment and fragile job security. Yet Cllr Shaw and her incompetent crop of councillors in the Lib Dem group who support her believe you should pay for an officer’s day off to listen to Mozart. I know I write this all the time, but I encourage you to inform Cllr Shaw how wrong she is and we do not pay our taxes so that officers can take days off to learn the recorder. Please send your emails to Cllr Shaw at: [email protected].