It was interesting to read Dr Daphne Pearson's article and the editor's Opinion column in this week's Review (June 12) and the basic theme of both has connections to the quality of local government.
I have written previous letters relating to this matter, and I am still not sure that the government that we have today in the county and district councils does not learn from past experiences. This is mainly due to the following factors:-
The people elected do not know how to manage the business entrusted to them, or do not feel that they have any accountability to the people that elected them.
The people elected do not handle the taxpayer's money responsibly, and do not treat it as they would their own personal finances.
Take the district council in Coleford for instance, whereby the current council operating under the control of Marion Winship was elected on the manifesto that they would reduce the costs of local government, and reduce the payroll headcount accordingly. Because they think they can freely spend our tax money, in the same way that the Labour councils in the past have done so extravagantly, they have not followed up on their election commitment.
When I asked Tim Perrin (our ex-chief executive) why he didn't balance the books, and take on expense commitments that he could not afford, he simply said "I can raise the council tax". That's why he is no longer employed in Coleford.
However, money is still being wasted, taxpayers' interests are not being taken into account, and the expense of government in Coleford is just as bad as it has always been. For instance:-
Why is Marion still spending £355,000 on the Coleford "palace"?
Why did she add management staff, such as two "strategy directors" when they don't even know how to hire and fire people, in particular a new chief executive ?
What happened to the 35 people she was cutting off the payroll ?
It is easy to throw taxpayers' money around, but it requires a genuine skill to save it, and that's what is missing today.
If we do not have the skills in Coleford to manage the business, let's follow Alan Sugar's policy..."you're fired". – Ralph Perry, Lydney.