30 September 2009

Timetable of intimidation

Recently M&B was asked about the events surrounding a car being torched and windows being smashed and it made an interesting exercise to lay these events out as a chronology. Here it is:

17th February - NC makes first visit to STC offices to review documents

16th March - NC makes second visit to STC offices to review documents

23rd April - NC makes third visit to Council offices to review documents

11th May - NC publishes Canvin invoice on www.muckandbrass.blogspot.com

16th May 2:00am - car torched in Mount Hey

21st May - Calderwood cancels 4th visit to STC

22nd May - NC makes first official Freedom of Information enquiry

22nd June - NC makes second official Freedom of Information enquiry

23rd June - STC meeting, Keenan invites abuse of NC, 08:00pm - 08:15pm

29th June - NC attends Council offices for pre-arranged document review but offices locked

3rd July - NC writes to external auditor indicating general terms of objection to STC accounts

13th July - NC makes third official Freedom of Information enquiry

8th August - windows smashed at 2 Mount Hey

Nothing untoward had ever happened at Mount Hey in the 30 years prior to the 16th of May 2009. It is fair to say that what has happened at Mount Hey since 16th May 2009 may be entirely coincidental in its relationship to my enquiries regarding Somerton Town Council and its affairs. But I'm not the only person who wonders if you can stretch coincidence quite that far.

Till next time, may your election promises come true.

Niall

28 September 2009

VOTE!


After all the rumours and counter-rumours, my voting card fell through the letterbox on Saturday morning and I knew that rumour was now reality. In the same way that one swallow doesn't make a spring, an election for Somerton Town Council doesn't indicate that anything much has changed. However, its fair to say that this election, the first 'real' election for 6 and a half years, does give Somerton's community the chance to have a say, and that, in itself, is a unique experience.

You could interpret this election as a consultation with the community and its the first time in recent memory that this Town Council have bothered to consult the community, so don't waste this opportunity. Find out about the candidates. Who are they and what is their experience? Have they undertaken any training? Do they know how a Town Council should be run? What are the issues that they see facing Somerton? How do they see the Town Council enabling the community's response to those issues. Find out if the candidates see the Council as serving the community or the other way around (which is the view of the current bunch). Find out what their position is on 'transparency' and 'accountability'. Will they represent the wider community or are they aiming to be a cypher for Somerton's development establishment?

M&B isn't in the game of pointing at one candidate or another but M&B recognises that this is the first opportunity in a long long time for the community to express its will and have it enacted. It's an opportunity that Somerton, as a community, needs to grab with both hands and in so doing, send a signal to the current Council that the community does have a voice and a will and both have been ignored for too long.

Till next time may your Returning Officer validate your vote.

Niall

PS Find the 'Vote' symbol here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4791508_throw-glamorous-oscar-party.html and its author's rights are recognised.

25 September 2009

Somerton - Bureaucracy Central?

With the purchase of the Tin Dunny, it has occurred to me that Somerton might ask itself just how accessible Somerton Town Council is to the Community of Somerton. In the 'good old days', when the Town Council was based at the Parish Rooms, it was possible to walk in and see the Town Clerk. Today, with the Council offices at the Tin Dunny, is the Town Council more or less accessible? Far less would be my guess. There is also the problem that the Council offices now seem to be locked up most of the time and its hard to assess just what sort of access the community are being given, setting aside the hike up to the Dunny itself.

Looking back at some of the statistics for South Somerset District, the following is a list of the Town Councils where the population is over 1000 persons (where possible, linked to their web presence):

Yeovil
Chard
Yeovil Without
Crewkerne
Brympton
Ilminster
Somerton
Wincanton
Martock
South Petherton
Bruton
Milborne Port
Tatworth and Forton
Castle Cary
Curry Rivel
West Coker
Merriott
Ilchester
Stoke Sub Hamdon
Huish Episcopi
East Coker
Henstridge
Abbas and Templecombe
Combe St Nicholas
Barwick
Kingsbury Episcopi
Langport
Ansford

As you can see, Somerton comes 7th on that list and it would be interesting were members of Somerton's Community to find out what sort of access to their Town Council other communities enjoy. How much are other communities paying in Administrative overheads? How many of SSD's councils require a full-time Clerk with part time administrative support? How many of SSD's town or parish councils spend upwards of 25% of their Precept on administration?

Of course, I don't have to remind you that Cllr Canvin made a big play in his 'election literature' (the 'non-election' of over 2 years ago) of his commitment to fighting bureaucracy wherever he finds it. Obviously he doesn't pay much attention to Somerton.

Till next time, may your bureaucracy fighting God look over you and keep you safe.

Niall

21 September 2009

When you don't trust an organisation.........


As you probably know, M&B has made a number of Freedom of Information requests of Somerton Town Council and, almost without exception, Somerton Town Council don't want to disclose any of the information. Whilst this is a little frustrating, it has offered a number of lessons about how you can pre-empt an unscrupulous organisation like Somerton's Town Council from spinning things out.

1. Do everything in writing. Don't trust the other side on the basis of a conversation which can't be corroborated.

2. If you are offering your support or your congratulations then you will almost certainly get a reply so don't worry in this instance.

3. If you are writing to ask an awkward question, eg "Where's the money gone?", expect that you won't get a reply so make a copy of the letter, deliver it by hand, and get someone from the Council to sign your copy as a receipt.That way they can't deny that they received it.

4. If you make an enquiry by email, make sure that your email programme supports 'Read Receipts' which means that when your email arrives at the other end, it sends an acknowledgement back to you when the email is opened. If your email programme doesn't support 'Read Receipts' then print two copies of the email, deliver one by hand and get a signature on your second copy. Again, that way, they can't deny receipt of the letter.

When you deal with a decently run and ethical organisation, such precautions aren't necessary but when you deal with an unreliable organisation (like Somerton Town Council) it pays to be careful.

Till next time, may your God be your witness.

Niall

18 September 2009

Secrets

Earlier this morning I had a look at the Martock on Line website and was very impressed with what I found there. Apart from a very good range of information about Martock, there were the Council Minutes and they themselves make very interesting reading. The Minutes are very professional and to the point, unlike the Minutes of Somerton Town Council which are a complete shambles in comparison. Attatched to the Minutes for 29th July were a group of documents which Somerton Town Council would be well advised to review. The list of documents are as follows:

2008 - 2009 Accounts
Received and Payments
Income and Expenditure year ended March 2009
Balance sheet
Assets
Supporting notes

Now, why might you ask, are these documents interesting? Well its because these are exactly the same documents that I have requested from Somerton Town Council and which Somerton Town Council have refused to disclose. This refusal has led to Freedom of Information requests which, at present, Somerton Town Council are obstructing.

But here are exactly the same documents available for all the public to see (because they are public documents) on Martock Parish Council's website. So why is Somerton Town Council so secretive about their finances?

Till next time, may your God watch over you.

Niall

13 September 2009

A request for infomation


Recently this blog has received a number of comments which have not been published because they contain information which cannot be verified. I would ask those contributors to contact me directly in order that I might learn more about the issues that they raise. I guarantee confidentiality and, when the facts are independently established, those facts will be published quoting the independent sources.

Till next time, may your God watch over you and keep you safe.

Niall

11 September 2009

A message to you Rudy..............


How do you communicate with someone? Use the phone? Write a letter? Send an email? Drop round their place and chuck stones through their windows? Which method would a "good citizen" use? Probably not the latter so that means that the three scum-bags who came round and hurled stones through my windows probably weren't the "good citizens" so beloved of Cllr Martyn Smith.

But there again, maybe these scum-bags are Cllr Smith's storm-troopers, the enforcers of Cllr Smith's brave new world of 'insiders'. And, given that he made his cute little speech in the middle of a Somerton Town Council meeting, maybe these scum-bags represent Somerton Town Council. Maybe they cut Cllr Beale's grass, maybe they do Cllr Keenan's perm, maybe they lick Cllr Canvin's toe-caps. Who knows what scum like these people get up to on their days off from the abattoir but counting beyond their fingers won't be one of them.

So, having got over the shock and disappointment (and noting the almost complete absence of awe) its time for me to get back in harness. Maggie Thatcher was never my favourite person but I have to give the old girl her due - she didn't blink and I've decided to take a page out of her book.

Till next time,

Niall

PS To the many people who have communicated their support, here's to you.

4 September 2009

Home thoughts from abroad


Right now I'm on holiday and its given me some time to think about the sordid events in Somerton. What I've experienced is just small town politics. Somerton is a very small pool with a few fish whose egos have become a bit inflated. The Town Council does a pretty poor job and I'm going to be interested to see what transpires from enquiries into the Behind Berry crossing fiasco. That could well be just another illustration of how the Town Council misrepresents itself and, if that is the case, it will be interesting to see an explanation of Cllr Keenan's public statements on the subject. Equally, it will be interesting to see whose signature is on the letters to Somerset County Council. At least the County Council respects the Freedom of Information Act.

Whatever the outcome, the fact is that the membership of the Council is complicit in the activities of the Council and I don't really understand how Councillors can sit on their hands doing absolutely nothing. Somerton Town Council is Somerton's Town Council, not Somerton's Business Association's Town Council. When are Somerton's Town Councillors going to wake up and start representing the whole of the electorate?

Till next, pray that my God looks after me.

Niall