Comments on: Council Resigns After Blogger Criticism

By: Steve Garrett

Steve Garrett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:38:26 +0000

The precept set by Somerton Town Council is exceptional. At £121 it is only £20 less than the District Council precept, which has to pay for a great many services (refuse collection, planning etc). Somerton’s precept is higher than any other in South Somerset or Mendip. As a comparison, some precepts for other towns in Somerset are: Wells £67; Street £38; Shepton Mallet £42; Glastonbury £35; Bruton £49; Ilminster £65: Langport £92; Martock £103; Yeovil £81. So it does seem that Somerton precept is a bit steep; what have they done with it all? What do Somerton residents get that Ilminster residents don’t? Of course, one of the things the money went on is Edgar Hall, which, as far as I can tell, has only ever had one booking (apart from town council meetings) and, again as far as I can tell, has no bookings for the foreseeable future. The reason is clear; a half day booking is £240; this is unaffordable by any town society and is about 6 (six!) times as much as a half day booking at a comparable hall in a nearby village. So, while other (more affordable) halls in Somerton are well used, Edgar Hall sits unused and unloved. Does anyone accept responsibility for foisting this expensive white elephant on the residents of Somerton?

By: Laurence

Laurence — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:53:12 +0000

Reactions like the one from Ex Councillor Kevin Morgan I always consider quite infantile… the kind of argument you may hear in the playground.

Niall may indeed prove to be a rubbish councillor (should he stand). But the point is he is a very able blogger and has ably communicated his concerns to Somerton residents and this is where his public service lies. To hold up our public representatives to the light is a worthy calling.

It doesn’t take guts to be a councillor. But it does take guts to openly make legitimate criticisms against those who may have supporters who misguidedly seek to suppress dissent through intimidation.

Great analysis by the way.

By: Niall Connolly

Niall Connolly — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:36:11 +0000

Somerton Town Council have, in the last 10 years, spent £1.65M of taxpayer’s money and have spent it with little or no consultation. Moreover, much of the expenditure has been undertaken in secret, with no publicity and no explanation of the basis for the expenditure. And all of this is before we discuss the little matter of the Etsome Terrace/Tin Dunny asset swap.

There are many more examples of Somerton Town Council’s curious attitude towatds accountability, for example, sometime in 2007, why did Somerton Town Council blow almost 20% of its funding (the taxpayer’s precept) on a spiffy tractor, where was the decision discussed and by whom, where has the tractor been since then and how much has its ownership cost the community?

Its time the Somerton Town Council was taken to task for its profligate and irresponsible attitude towards the way it distributed taxpayers funds. If the Town Council has nothing to hide, why then has it spent 6 months trying to obstruct the Freedom of Information Act?

Lets hope that Somerton Town Council will be able to answer these questions and lets hope that a new Town Council can unravel the financial mess that they face.

By: onlineFOCUS - News and Stuff For Rochford District » A Council Overthrown In Somerset - By A Website

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:27:31 +0000

[...] website has written an independent analysis of the situationhere and [...]

By: Matt Wardman

Matt Wardman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:45:14 +0000

Ten out of ten.

By: daniel

daniel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:43:35 +0000

I can assure you that Niall Connolly is very
much ‘real’and far from ’spineless’
so jiminthemorning wake up and smell democracy in action

By: Ex Councillor Kevin Morgan

Ex Councillor Kevin Morgan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:44:58 +0000

Thank you for your unbiased educated comments. The Blogger now has the opportunity to stand for election himself, and see how much better he can do…I wonder if he has the guts?
It amazes me why this has only come to light over the past months? and surely people should ask themselves the same question …besides, if the council were doing such a bad job, why has it taken this long to persecute them, and not to mention all the good charitable things they have done at their expense including financially, leaving the town precept in a far healthier position.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:23:17 +0000

Thanks – excellent and clear analysis – pity that mainstream media like BBC haven’t printed or posted anything about the allegations of financial abuse. I would have thought that would be news, especially in light of the furor over MP expenses…

By: Yestertempest

Yestertempest — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:13:42 +0000

Councillors it seems need to be reminded that they have responsibilities to the community that they are supposed to represent. After all they are in charge of tax payers money – it is right that they are held accountable for their decisions.

It is really good to see someone take the trouble to look behind the headlines and provide a clear analysis of the real story behind it.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:49:40 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by jamescousins: @ShaneMcC @ThePickards did a bit of investigation into it last night http://j.mp/2d0IW5...