Was That Summer...

I have to admit, I missed it!

I have been a busy girl over the summer.  I have handed in my Masters degree dissertation (a 15,000 word essay on how video games function as narrative) and been working on the big issues for the council.

The biggest issue (outside parking) that we have been looking at is the Blue Collar contracts.  This is the bins and the recycling and cleaning.  Most councils across the country (I am told) are transferring to a fortnightly collection services in order to save some of the money that all councils have to save due to funding cuts from the Government - and the need to cut the deficit in the council.  If you read the local paper, you will know that EDC need to save over £1,000,000 per year in order to have a balanced budget.  (For me, this begs the question, as it does for the Government, which idiot let the deficit grow like this - and why does it take a major emergency to review and change the budget?)

Anyway, the Council, as the Herald has been reporting, are looking at ways of saving money - but making sure YOU get a good service - and the estimates for the bins and recycling appear to be able to give a saving, whilst still giving a better service for you.  As my daughter might say 'RESULT!'

It is not a done deal though, there are still another round of tenders to go yet, which might see prices rise to the point where they are not offering such a good deal, but at the moment, it seems like we can offer a good service (which means that your plastic recycling can be collected from the door) and save money.

Very Concerned

I am VERY concerned; not just a little, not a bit, but I am actually frightened for Eden.

I am not stupid, I know that what is reported in the media is not necessarily what is 100% truth - but this week has seen two news stories jump out with nothing but potential pain for EDC.

The first thing was the News and Star report that Carlisle City was not wanting just a shared chief executive with Eden (you may remember that I and the Lib Dem councillors of EDC were opposed to this in the first place) Carlisle City Council, according to press reports are wanting a wholesale merger with EDC as sharing a chief executive will not be financially beneficial for either of us, despite the assurances we were given in EDC's council chamber that we would be saving money by doing this. This would mean becoming one council. This would mean sharing assets, jobs and debts - absolutely...

OK, so I and my team are opposed to this, this is NOT good for Eden, its residents, its businesses or its future. A shared Chief Executive was hard to swallow, but we lost the vote for this, and made the decision to do what was right for Eden and move on with the Transformation Process.

THEN

Today's Cumberland News has a story that Carlisle City Council are so strapped for cash, so desperate for money that it is selling of a vast amount of its assets. According to the article, they are already selling these assets off to raise money.

So, realistically, what are we getting into? A merger with a council so desperate for money that it is selling off all the land it can (right down to empty fields) How would we benefit from this. If we merge with Carlisle City, then we share their debts and they share our assets.

I think this needs to be looked at again. Quickly and as a matter of urgency, for the good of all residents, business and most definitely its future.

The Monthy Meeting

A big meeting this week- with some big decisions and some big challenges.

The most important thing on the meetings agenda was the 'management of succession' or choosing a new Chief Executive for the council. This was heard behind closed doors, after the press and the public had been excluded from the council chamber. I, and the other Lib Dems have a fundamental problem with some of the agenda item being taken in secret. The fact that the Chief Executive at the moment is temporary is something that has been in the local paper and so the discussion about appointing a new one seemed to be something that did not need to be a secret. Obviously, things like people possibly losing their jobs needed to be discussed with them before it became public knowledge; I would hate to read in the Herald that my job was at risk.

Eden District Council has had problems before with secrecy - and with the release of secrets into the public domain. If something is already public, what is the point in trying to keep it secret?

I am not giving away secrets when I say that EDC decided that it was going to ask Carlisle City Council if it would like to share a chief executive - Gordon Nicholson, the leader of the council has already given a statement in the Herald. I don't think this is the right thing to do -not at this point in time anyway. There can be no denying that the council has a spending deficit which needs to be fixed; but I, and a number of others, believe that this entails a radical restructuring and this could be best achieved by having our own chief executive to oversee this, rather than one that is in charge of two such differing councils. However, we lost this vote, and so we need to get on with things now, and do what we can to make sure that the interests of Eden are served, no matter what.