[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

As I have stated frequently, Hyndburn Borough Council is facing severe cuts in the immediate future, not helped by the fact that the current administration is spending money hand over fist like there is no tomorrow on ludicrous pet projects.

Whilst my feelings on the Market Hall entertainments and public arts are well known, I firmly believe that if tiny economies were made across the board we would come out of this with smaller wounds. The same principle applies at home during times of need so why not at council level?

As an example, Peter Britcliffe had a medal minted for himself at our expense in 2008 to denote that he is Leader of the Council which cost £72.11 plus VAT (£84.73 by my reckoning). Now whilst that isn't much in itself, it was unnecessary to his function, no other council leader has such a medal and it served only to flatter his ego at events where former Mayors are wearing their medals.

My belief is that Hyndburn Borough Council, along with every other council in the country, should exercise restraint in all this flippant spending and apply three criteria to absolutely everything which is requested:

1. Is it absolutely essential to the function of the department?
2. What purpose does this item/event serve?
3. Can it be done for less money?

If we boil this down even as far as stationery (examples being the special 'Hyndburn' pencils and metal badges such as 'I Love Wind Power') then we probably wouldn't get past point 1 for many requests.

The Freedom of Information Act has allowed requests regarding council spending to be made by anyone and the link to Hyndburn's e-mail address can be found here for anyone wanting to know the cost of a project:

Freedom of Information Act - About Freedom of Information

My view is that we are not here to prove to everyone what an 'excellent council' Hyndburn has, we are here to govern well and ensure that the borough runs smoothly. At the moment it feels like an inter-council version of The X Factor where each borough competes for the biggest applause.

Are my feelings shared or am I just a cynical old miser?

Discuss.

Now that is far too much common sense to succeed Ken......C'mon, you know the drill.
It has to have less function than mammaries on a bull, it has to promote and massage the ego of a said person.....I don't need to say who it is do I ?
And it has to cost the borough great chunks of money to be even put into the 'To be considered' pile.

On the sensible side. I think that every person in the borough would hope that our council would budget in the manner that you sugest. Is that too much to hope for?