Councils from nightmares

Let me say in advance that today’s article is not about Shirebrook. Instead, it is my personal view of the problems facing councillors in other parts of the country. So if you are looking for the latest news from STC- you can skip this article and come back next week.

Since I won a seat at the STC, I’m trying to learn as much and as fast as possible about the secrets of being a councillor. Looking for tips and tricks on the Internet that could help me to quickly learn the ins and outs of the work of a councillor, I came across a few forums where councillors from different parts of our country discuss the problems they encounter in everyday work and help each other in solving them. In short, after reading the stories I found on this site, I have to admit without a hint of sarcasm – STC is not that bad (I’m talking about technical details-not preferred policies).

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE- TOWN CLERK
Before the first meeting, which I attended as a councillor, I had already had several contacts with the Town Clerk of STC. Whenever I “pestered” her with questions – I always got an answer. Professional, factual and usually comprehensive. I, therefore, thought that this was the standard. I was even convinced that Town Clerk and administrative assistant positions are difficult to get because many people are applying for this position, and absolutely every Council has its own version of our Jennifer and Rachel. I could not have been more wrong.

After reading other councillors’ stories, I realised that many Town Councils face considerable problems recruiting people to take care of the “paperwork” required to keep Council meetings organised and the town running. This is even more surprising if you know that Town Clerks usually earn more than 33 000 per year. Recently one of the parish councils in our District looked for a Town Clerk, and they have a hard time finding a proper candidate.

A discussion among town councillors with a similar lack of interest in this job counted dozens of entries. Each one was separate material for an article. To sum up, how comfortable STC councillors are in their situation, I will cite just one example of what we could have if we were less fortunate:


I read stories about Councils that are forced to act for months without a Town Clerk because no one is interested in such a job. I read stories about Town Clerks sharing their time between two or even three councils. I read stories of councillors who are forced to cooperate with Town Clerks, who treat their work as an unpleasant duty and obstruct the activities of councillors at every step. I also read a story about Town Clerk who …

LEARN TO WRITE!
… kept secret all minutes from each council meeting (?!?). Another Town Clerk said that if councillors wanted notes from meetings, they should take them themselves … Other councillors recommended recording the meetings – as I do. Sometimes it comes in handy when you need to come back to remember something, so that was my advice to other councillors- record all meetings.

UNDER THUMB OF OLD GUARD
In one parish council, the “old” councillors forbade a newly elected councillor to speak to residents without “supervision”. This councillor asked how he could get involved in contacts with the residents without the burdensome “control” of the old councillors. The more experienced councillors on the forum quickly explained to the new councillor that no one had the right to forbid him from direct contact with voters. After some time, I returned to this thread. It turned out that the matter of “forbidding” contacts with residents took on an official course, and it was dealt with by the Monitoring Officer.

In this case, the STC could also be taken as an example – nobody forbids contact with anyone. Fact – many councillors avoid contact, do not answer e-mails, or answer phone calls. Still, we also have councillors who are involved in their work enough to reply to each message.

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE AGAIN- THIS TIME: COUNCILLOR
Many Councils also have another unusual problem – the lack of people willing to sit in the Chamber. In one of the threads, councillors from many councils advised each other and shared ways to encourage residents to work as councillors. An extreme case was a council in the south of a country with so few councillors attending meetings that the Council could not make any decisions due to a lack of a quorum.

In another Council, the interest in the elections was so low that at some point majority of the council members sitting in the Council were thereby co-opt (adding a councillor without elections; this usually happens when there is a free seat in the Council and no one requests that by-elections be called; in such a case, councillors have the right to propose a position to a chosen resident).

In this matter, STC can also boast of a higher standard. Our Council is fully staffed, and I’m sure that even if someone gave up their seat, there would be someone willing to sit in the Chamber in their place. Unfortunately, the lack of people willing to work as a councillor is quite common. My research shows that Tony Blair’s government has already raised this issue and every PM after him. So far, however, no way has been found to change the attitude of local communities towards Parish Councils. The younger generation shows no interest in local politics, hence the increasingly ageing councils, which do not reflect the age distribution of the community and are often only bodies made up of retired people.

I must emphasise that I understand the aversion of the youngest generations to work as a councillor. When you enter the job market, not only do you earn little, but you have to focus on your career development and your family at the same time. I sometimes find it very difficult to combine my duties as a councillor with my other responsibilities. Hence, councillors are often people who have either finished their careers or are comfortable that additional duties do not interfere with the most important thing, i.e. care for career and family. Unfortunately, this has a negative side – the lack of representation of younger generations in regional authorities affects what these authorities care about in the first place.

THREATS- THE DAILY BREAD OF MANY COUNCILORS
Here I could add my three cents as I was the target of threats myself. Fortunately, the most aggressive Labor councillors probably quickly realised that attacking me was turning against them and gave up this type of approach. Anyway, I was prepared for this type of behaviour – I understand that Labor is not used to the presence of the opposition. It was natural that they would need time to get used to someone who would bring their dirt to light. I think the worst is behind me, and it will only get better now.

I must honestly emphasise that the aversion that some councillors showed towards me has decreased. Not so long ago, when I entered the Chamber, I was greeted with a sigh of disappointment. Now, however, more and more often, I am greeted by smiles and kind words. Good opposition is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and it seems that even those councillors who at the beginning had a sincere and undisguised hatred for me understood that my criticism was in the best interest of the town.

Back to the threats at other councils. In an extreme case, the attacked councillor gathered all the slander produced about him. It began posting them on YouTube in the form of videos. The catalogue of films with screens had several items. Some of the attacks were more like C-grade horror films than political criticism of even the lowest order. After all, it must hurt when you work for your community for free and sacrifice time that could be spent with friends or family, and in return, you only receive such “rewards”? It can sow doubt in the most determined mind…

Most shocking for me was the amount of hatred between councillors. I could not find a single story about threats received from residents. It’s always between councillors or council workers. I did not expect that…

TO SUM UP – BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE BECAUSE IT COULD BE WORSE
STC is not perfect. We have debts, disastrous financial policies, massive spending, poorly structured contracts, wrong priorities. Labour focuses on entertainment instead of what hurts residents- crime and high taxes. Yes. These are serious problems. However, after reading the problems other Councils are facing- I breathed a sigh of relief. Shirebrook is not that bad- our problems are technical, fiscal. In fact, these problems are easily fixable-as long as residents change their attitude to voting in local elections or the ruling majority finally understands that safety is more important than entertainment. I will keep working on that- I can clearly see that some success can be achieved.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com

Lead picture: Yaopey Yong from www.unsplash.com