HISTORICAL DAY, FOR OH SO MANY REASONS!

For the first time, the Labour Party councillor asked to record the Shirebrook Town Council meeting- this is a historic moment. I hope that the recording will not be “overwritten” to hide what the Chair of STC and Town Clerks did at this meeting. That would not be a precedent- STC has already done something like this once in the past.

A request by one of the Labor Party councillors to record the meeting is a notable change in the behaviour of Labor Party councillors. Labour preferred to avoid the publicity and evidence of what happened at the meetings. Meeting minutes seldom contain numbers, sums, or quotes. So why did Labour Party start with a declaration that this meeting would be recorded? It’s simple – Labor is hoping to catch me on something: like I caught Chris Kane’s STC Chair at the previous meeting. They will analyse the recording, look for my mistakes, pick on me and try to discredit me in the eyes of the residents.

Ladies and gentlemen! This is proof that it was the first time Labor considered me a threat, not a mere curiosity that would pass away like Shirebrook Together. They finally understood- I’m here to stay.

THE PROVERBS ARE THE WISDOM OF THE NATIONS
There is a saying: first, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and finally, you win. Officially, I can announce: The Labor Party has moved to the third phase of this saying. They ignored me at first. Later they laughed at me. The third phase started at this meeting. Labour proceeded to attack.

LABOUR IS SCARED OF THE WORD “DEBT” BUT NOT DEBT ITSELF
When I published a fragment from the audio recording of the STC meeting showing how Labour approached the town debt: Labour realised they had made a colossal mistake. They had become so accustomed to the fact that I was recording them that they had lowered their guard. They forgot about it, and I silently and concentrically collected juicy morsels while waiting for some particularly juicy ones. Bloody juicy. Chair of STC Chris Kane delivered it to me. On a silver platter.

The Chair of STC took the liberty of making a stupid, political mistake: he ignored a question about the debt that was REPEATED and IGNORED three times over five minutes and closed the meeting (meeting regarding the town finances!!!) without a word of explanation. If he had been politically prudent, he would have done what I thought he would do: first, announce that this part of the meeting was “exempt” and only then give me an evasive answer. So as not to tell me anything. Of course, that’s what I expected (and prepared for). 

So the debt will continue to generate interest for the BDC, and the STC does not even have one line of plan on what to do about it. So we have a debt that we can’t service, but they don’t want to talk about it. Exactly like Labour Party central government in 2008. They sold British gold at the lowest price back then. What will they sell now?

However, if you think Chris Kane couldn’t have made an even bigger gaff than he did with that debt question, then… you’re wrong. I’ll admit- I wasn’t expecting it. The last morsel was juicy and served on a silver platter. The bite I have for you today is even more succulent and served on a gold platter. Enjoy!

STUPID MISTAKES USUALLY COME BACK TO BITE YOU
But before the latest gaffe by our enlightened leader, the Labour Party mounted their attack. So what did the Labour Party come up with? Well, they thought the best defence was to attack. It looks like they felt they needed to divert attention away from the debt and to do that, they needed to find a so-called ‘hook’ on me. So I admit it-this time, Labour has done its homework.

The attack was prepared quite well. Was that councillor right? Did I made a mistake? Did the hook get into me, and will it leave a mark forever? I am explaining this now and will publish an article on it. I will post this article by the end of this month to cut off any speculation. I have been accused of lying even though I still believe that I did not commit a lie. I, therefore, need to check all the recordings and find in them the moment that Labour used to attack me.

However, if I made a mistake, I made it through a lack of understanding of what was discussed at the meeting and not because I wanted to mislead anyone. I am a councillor with nine months’ experience. I will probably make more mistakes like this before I become more experienced.

But there is something more substantial – Labour was so focused on attacking me frontally that they forgot to protect their rear. Fasten your seatbelts, readers! There has never been such a rough ride on the S247!

STC CHAIR CHRIS KANE: OUT OF HIS DEPTH. AGAIN.
The fact that Chair of STC Chris Kane closed the previous STC meeting without answering the THREE times asked “what about the town debt?” is an outrage. I thought Chris Kane had already fallen to the bottom. He, however, pierced that bottom with a gleeful smile on his lips then dove into the muck of his incompetence. Still smiling.

Below you will find an audio recording of what happened. However, let me start by outlining the background. For months Cllr John Lewis, at every STC meeting, has been asking why MP Mark Fletcher has not visited STC so far. I’ll be honest – I have great respect for Cllr John Lewis. I often sit next to him at meetings, although I plan to change my seat: I want to be closer to the Town Clerk, so she never again has the opportunity to do what she did at that meeting. I need to keep an eye on her more than Chris Kane- he is finished in my eyes.

Back to Cllr John Lewis: when John Lewis gets attached to something, he doesn’t let go. I have to give him credit-he’s pretty damn consistent. I like consistent people. Even if they’re Labour Party members. And John Lewis is exceptionally consistent. Every meeting- question about our MP’s visit. I also have to give him credit that while he doesn’t visit every STC meeting- his attendance at “Full” and “his” committee meetings is 100%.

When I analysed his attendance while writing this article, I concluded that my article about the attendance of councillors hurt a few of them. So I must write it again except that I will analyse the attendance of councillors at Full and “their” committee meetings this time.

In my last article about attendance at STC meetings, Cllr John Lewis had 58%, which completely misrepresents his image as a councillor who always turns up to meetings he should be at and only skips those where he is not entitled to vote. 100% attendance at “his” meetings must be praised. I wonder how many other such councillors there are in STC: ones who exemplify their duties at full meetings and meetings of “their” committees. I have wronged them by underrating them because I judge them by my yardstick (I demand from myself 100% attendance).

COUNCILLOR FOR ALL
I am a councillor for every resident of Shirebrook, no matter their views or party affiliation. I like to help. John Lewis lives in my ward, and a few meetings ago, I realised that John Lewis has a problem: he wants to meet in the Chamber, face to face, with someone who represents him in Parliament. I thought he had been asking for this meeting for so long that it was time to take matters into my hands and help him. Apparently, nobody else was interested in helping him.

I contacted MP Mark Fletcher to persuade him to visit the STC meeting. What he told me made my jaw drop to the floor… Before I write about why I suffered such a serious dental injury, it’s time to listen to an excerpt from the recording of the STC meeting on 16.2.2022.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!!! HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS!!!
I have included a verbatim transcript below the recording with commentary on who says what when so that those not familiar with the voices know what, who and when they are saying. The recording starts as the Chair responds to Cllr John Lewis’ request to invite MP Mark Fletcher to an STC meeting. To listen to the recording, press the triangle (sometimes you have to press it twice)

00:01 STC Chairman Chris Kane (CK): As you know from past meetings John…

00:02 Cllr John Lewis (JL): Beg your pardon?

00:03 CK: As you know from the previous meeting, Clark wrote to him, and invited him to meetings, and he not responded to us…

00:12 JL (start to talk but Town Clerk interrupt him)

00:13 Town Clerk (TC): Sorry he have… ( she starts to speak in the background- this is of paramount importance; I’ll explain below, but she speak so quietly that I don’t understand her, neither Cllr John Lewis. What is the effect of her interjection? The Chair of STC went DEAD SILENT. Like a grave… You won’t hear from him anymore in this part of the meeting. Not a single word. Why? Because he knew- HE JUST LIED TO STC! He lied to me, Cllr John Lewis. He lied to every resident in the room and those who just listened to this recording. Ups! Our Chair, ladies and gentlemen- Town Clerk needed to conduct damage control while he sat there with a red face: he realised that he had just fallen into a deep hole that they tried to push me in. They wanted to catch me on “lie” and on the same meeting: they gave me juicy evidence that STC Chair has no idea what is happening in STC. Anyway- Cllr John Lewis didn’t give up and started again)

00:17 JL: CAN I FINISH? (Cllr Lewis should not be interrupted by Town Clerk, and you can hear- he is tired by lack of professionalism of Town Clerk and even little agitated. At the same moment, you can hear Town Clerk whispering something to the Chair of STC, but Cllr John Lewis starts to talk again. The sound of his voice dominated over the secret convo between TC and Chair. Thank god Labour asked to record that meeting- I’ll ask for that audio file to find out what Town Clerk said to the Chair. Will they dare to refuse me? Will they “overwrite” the file again?) You know when you write to Mark Fletcher, do it that he reply back…

00:21 TC (interrupts again, as usual): If, if I just… can come in…

00:24 JL: Oh… I thought that… (and again Town Clerk interrupt Cllr John Lewis and you can feel resignation in his voice)

00:26 TC: …but we have a response, and it was quite favourable… (TADAAAAAA- Chair have no idea what is going on his watch; just 23 seconds ago he stated: “and he (MP or his office) not responded”. He lied, OR Town Clerk hid that information from him- no idea what is worse).

This is a jaw-dropping moment. Maybe it does not seem that big, but it’s a historical moment for me. The Chairman of STC has no idea what is going on IN HIS COUNCIL!

THE TOWN CLERK PLAY THE ROLE. AGAIN.
Association of Local Councils states: “The role of Clerk is to ensure that the Council as a whole conducts its business properly and to provide independent, objective and professional advice and support.”

Yet, when you look closer at our Town Clerk, you will see someone who constantly interrupts, refuses to put items of agenda, hides information not only from councillors but in this instance- probably from the Chair as well. She never asks for a voice from Chair. She often won’t wait for the councillor to finish his thought- in this instance, she interrupted Cllr John Lewis twice: you can feel resignation in his voice. I know that feeling way too well- she is doing that to me constantly.

WHY IS STC LAST IN THE DISTRICT TO MEET WITH MP?
There was communication between STC Town Hall and MP Mark Fletcher, and it looks like NONE of Labour Party Councillors knew about it. So- WHO IS RUNNING THIS TOWN??? Why did the Town Clerk hide that info until this very moment?

Town Clerk finally admitted that there was and was communication between MP and Shirebrook Town Hall. The big question is: was there any form of communication BEFORE I started enquiries at the MP office??

In the audio file above, Town Clerk starts to talk about policing and CCTV to avoid admitting the fact that there was communication earlier, and she didn’t mention it at all. Ever. I know that. She knows that. MP office workers know that. MP know that. Who doesn’t know? Chris Kane and the whole Labour. This is insane!

WHO RUN THIS TOWN?
Sometimes I have this feeling that Town Clerk thinks that she is above the rules. She runs interference for Labour when they are in trouble under the fire of my scrutiny. She runs interference for herself when she makes some mistake. She interrupts Councillors in half-sentence when she wants. Very rarely ask for a voice and wait for her turn to speak. She rejects proposed agenda items because SHE thinks it’s not relevant.

For example, I proposed (with all rules required by Standing Orders) a debt term payment discussion. Quite important, right? What Town Clerk did? Yup- she rejected it. TWICE. The BIGGEST debt among all Parish Councils in Bolsover District is… not a problem. No, wait! Let me rephrase that: combined debt of all other (15) parish councils in Bolsover District is around 400 000 pounds smaller than Shirebrook debt alone. That should give you perspective. Scary perspective.

They know that I know how they plan to pay it back. They know that I know how to show it to the people of this town. And when people will realise whey Labour just did- they will be furious. Labour is between hammer and a hard place: but I cant write about it. Labour made it “exempt”. So you will not know…

ARE WE IN TROUBLE??? TOWN CLERK SAID NAAAAAAH
Listen to me, people. If I’m right and this debt is due to be paid in April, we are in trouble. This debt is bigger than STC cash reserves. If BDC forces STC to pay it back: THERE IS NO MONEY LEFT on a bank account. How does STC plan to pay LC staff wages? How will they pay bills? Should we talk about it? Naaah- Town Clerk decided that it’s NOT IMPORTANT and Chair- just closed meeting and went home…

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?
But let’s get back to the STC meeting with MP. So to make Cllr John Lewis’ dream come true, I started by talking with our MP’s office staff. Literally, everyone on the other side of this conversation kept telling me the same thing: we have tried to get in touch with STC, but they are ignoring us. They don’t respond to messages. What should we do? Get down on our knees and beg?

I’ve decided that I’ve had enough of chatting to office staff and need to go to the source. I know the MP has a difficult job and probably doesn’t have time for private chats with an unimportant councillor, but… I’m stubborn, and when I set my mind to something, I sometimes act like a bully to achieve it. I know it’s lame. But, unfortunately, sometimes in life, there is no other way, and in politics, you don’t stand a chance without elbow grease. So I started writing messages directly to MP Mark Fletcher.

I know it may seem strange for a councillor to contact an MP directly. Except that I realise that if I want to get something done for my town, I need to know and let important people know me. That’s why I sometimes volunteer for the MP. Do you remember that leaflet from the MP attached to the crime survey? MP used to walk the streets of our town in person and drop those flyers at your door. And I would tread behind him, continually boring him about the affairs of Shirebrook. The MP going to South Normanton? I was with him to help. Whitwell? I was there, I helped. Blackwell- of course, I helped. Pinxton – I was there. Creswell? Sure, why not! Through this, I also met Ryan and Sharon, who has been in absolutely every town in our region, walking around and helping our MP deliver leaflets.

Many people think that is a waste of time. So please tell me how MP could reach you better, cheaper and faster? There is no better way than rolling up sleeves and doing miles on your own, meeting people and ensuring that every house is serviced with relevant information. When was the last time people of Shirebrook received ANYTHING from Labour outside election season? They just don’t care; they take you for granted.

Personally, I’m very impressed that the MP doesn’t dump the work on the employees. Instead, he rolls up his sleeves and goes around the streets himself on HIS DAY OFF- usually on Saturdays. I was with him in every town and village of our District. To be sure that Shirebrook is on our MP’s radar.

I literally exchanged the last message with MP Mark Fletcher at 5:28 pm, an hour and a half before the STC meeting. I admit: I felt a bit of frustration in his messages. It was like he was about to ask me: what do you want me to do? We asked several times for a meeting and nothing! It was exactly what his staff told me.

When I told that to Labour Party councillors- some of them laughed. Not Chris Kane tho. He knew- he cook it up!

From here, I would like to thank MP Mark Fletcher for taking the time to explain everything to me personally: thank you. I would like also to thank him for his will to come to the STC meeting. I hope Cllr John Lewis will appreciate it too.

MY HYPOTHESES
I have three hypotheses.

Hypothesis one:
The Chair of STC lied by saying that “he (MP) did not respond”. According to this hypothesis, the Chair knew that MP had tried to contact but preferred to lie to councillors that MP had not responded. It seems that in this hypothesis, the Chair does not want MP to turn up at the STC meeting. Why? I have no idea. If I’m honest- this hypothesis seems unlikely to me. 

Hypothesis two:
The Chair of STC was not aware of the attempts to make contact made by the MP’s office. That is why he said what he said with such nonchalance. It seems to me that this hypothesis is the most probable. It means that the civil servants of STC withheld information from him.

This hypothesis also has far more significant consequences. This situation accentuates the epic breach of trust and impartiality that Civil Servants should display. The fact that the Town Clerk refuses to put my proposed item on the agenda is annoying and just a challenge for me to overcome, but withholding key information in the face of constant questioning from elected councillors? This is a serious matter.

SECRETS, SECRETS HURT SOMEONE. SECRETS, SECRETS ARE NO FUN
I have listened to this part of the recording many times- unfortunately, I am sitting on the other side of the room than the Town Clerk. I can’t make out what she said to the Chair, but the Chair doesn’t speak again from that point on. He is silent like a tomb. Silent-as-a-tomb. His face turned red like a communist flag, and you could almost see dark thoughts running through his head. He knew just feed me another juicy sound bit…

If hypothesis number two is correct: the Town Clerk, or one of the other two officials working at Town Hall, concealed the truth for months from Cllr John Lewis and all the democratically elected members of STC, including myself. Heads should roll for such a thing. So what else is being withheld from us (democratically elected councillors)? Hmmm, something about debt repayment negotiations perchance?

Hypothesis three:
The MP or his office staff are lying to me. They have never sent any messages to STC, and when they have received letters from STC, they have not responded to them. In this case, I will be sincerely and deeply disappointed. I promise that if this hypothesis turns out to be accurate, I will not refrain from harsh criticism, although I consider it completely implausible.

LET’S JUST TALK, OK?
I hope the conversation about who invited who and when doesn’t dominate MP’s visit- it’s not his problem, it’s not the residents’ problem. It’s an internal STC problem and I will try to get to bottom of it later. Meanwhile, I want to talk with MP about the crucial problems of our town and a couple of ideas on how to improve the lives of townfolks. I bet other councillors will have a tone of questions too. Let’s focus on that and deal with Town Clerk and uninformed “leader” Chris Kane later.

MP tried to arrange a meeting before, STC ignored him. So what was he supposed to do? He let it go, and I suspect he only returned to the issue when I started harassing his staff (and him, to be honest). The truth is- if there is a meeting between STC and MP, then we have more important things to discuss than the incompetence of Chris Kane and the political games played by the Town Clerk. We should discuss that at a separate meeting. From my point of view, this whole affair is just further proof that the function of Chairman of Council is beyond Chris Kane’s capabilities. Mic drop!

HISTORY IS MADE BY PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP
This was not the end of the historical events at the meeting. For the first time since I have been sitting on the STC, the residents visited the meeting. One could say – Chamber was crowded (as for the conditions of STC). Among the audience, there were as many as six people! And each of them more friendly than the previous one! I am serious – the presence of residents interested in the town’s fate brought some pleasant warmth to the Chamber. Thank you to all residents who came to this meeting! You have poured hope into my heart!

Two people came explicitly to address me personally about what I write about the Leisure Centre. I think I was on the right track to explain to these residents what I meant, but of course, when I got to the inconvenient facts – I was interrupted by the Chair, who “magically” regained his speech. Surprise?

Nothing lost – these residents invited me to a meeting of their group to allow me to explain myself without the tiresome and constant interference of Labour Party councillors. I intend to honour that invitation.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PRIORITY OF SHIREBROOK?
STC in 2021 spent well over £250,000 on ‘leisure’ and zero pounds on crime prevention. This divides me politically from Labour councillors: my view is that STC priorities should be different to what they are now. It was fine to spend that money when the town was almost dead, and people were moving out. Now out town is vibrant, and many people, sometimes nasty people, move in. Policies should evolve with the changing situation, not stay the same for decades.

15 Labour Party councillors think Leisure is the most important and that’s why half of the tax revenue goes to it.

1 Conservative Party councillor believes that this policy will lead to more tragedies in our town and needs to be changed immediately to prevent them.

To end the LC topic, I will just add the icing on the cake: the cost of heating and hot water at the Leisure Centre in August 2021 was over two thousand pounds. Heating. In August. 2000 pounds.

I thought for a moment that STC had a deal like me- I pay a flat rate. I overpay in summer, and that overpayment covers the increased cost in winter. This is not the case at LC- they bring in pellets once a month and top up to the desired level. So 2000 in August is… well, you need to fill the blank for yourself.

NO MORE POLITICAL GAMES!
Until now, I have ignored Town Clerk’s political games. But if it doesn’t stop, I will be forced to take up the challenge. For now, my focus has been on Chris Kane. He’s done– he’s made a fool of himself and proven he has no control over what goes on around him. I won’t let the town forget that.

I will now deal with the next serial sinner at STC. However, I will stop being nice when the Town Clerk continues to bother me instead of doing her duty (which is to help). I will take up the challenge she throws at me. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I am endlessly disappointed that there is a growing impression in me that the most severe difficulty in my job at STC is not the Labour Party. Instead, I increasingly get the impression that it is the Town Clerk. This is sad because the Town Clerk is supposed to be impartial and help councillors do their jobs. Right, Jen?

Below are other highlights of the meeting:

 2022/007 TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES AND REASONS FOR ABSENCE.

Two councillors were absent.

2022/008 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS.

 The interest was declared, and councillors left Chamber at the required moments.

2022/009 TO DISCUSS ANY POLICE MATTERS AND DECIDE ANY ISSUES FOR REPORT.

CRIME FIGURES ARE ATTACHED FOR INFORMATION – (PAGES 1-4).

We normally have around 100-150 crimes a month in Shirebrook. In December police.uk shows that in Shirebrook, there were… 4 crimes. I don’t believe that. Something is wrong with this statistic. I will try to investigate this further.

2022/010 TO PERMIT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PERIOD. A PERIOD OF UP TO BUT NO LONGER THAN TEN MINUTES TO RECEIVE QUESTIONS AND OPINIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON ANY MATTER WHICH AFFECTS THE TOWN.

Three residents took the floor. The residents were heard and questions were answered.

2022/011 TO HEAR REPRESENTATION FROM ARRON JOHNSON OF BOLSOVER DISTRICT COUNCIL IN RELATION TO THE COMMUNITY RAIL PARTNERSHIP AND TO CONSIDER BECOMING A PARTNER AND CONTRIBUTING A £1,000 MEMBERSHIP FEE – (PAGES 5-15)

STC has taken the decision to join the Community Rail Partnership programme. This programme is potentially very broad and I think I would need a whole article to describe it. There will certainly be time to do so as the scheme is still in the building and fundraising stages.

2022/012 TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PRECEPT MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL HAVING BEEN HELD 26TH JANUARY 2022 – (PAGES 16-18)

Labour voted in favour. I voted against it because I believe that during an hour-long meeting about the town’s finances, the HUGE debt should have been addressed in at least a couple of sentences.

Of course, the word debt does not appear once on any of the documents from the ‘Finances and Growth Committee as well as the Precept Meeting. That is the definition of insanity.

 2022/013 TO REVIEW AND APPROVE FINANCIAL INFORMATION

a. TO AUTHORISE CASH BOOK ENTRIES SINCE PREVIOUS MEETING – (PAGES 19-26)

b. TO ADDRESS QUERIES ARISING FROM THE CASH BOOK.

c. TO REVIEW BANK RECONCILIATION/S FOR CASH BOOK PERIOD – (PAGES 27-28)

d. TO CONSIDER AND DECIDE APPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

NONE RECEIVED TO DATE.

Financial matters settled quickly. I only had one question. Well, in December, STC paid over £4,000 to BDC for what was described as “election handling”. I was puzzled by this as there have been no elections in Shirebrook since May 2021. It turns out that the bill for the May by-election has only now arrived.

2022/014 TO CONSIDER RESPONSES AS NECESSARY TO LISTED CORRESPONDENCE.

a. DEPARTMENT FOR LEVELLING UP, HOUSING & COMMUNITIES – RT HON MICHAEL GOVE MP –INFORMATION RELATING TO THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE EVENTS – (PAGES 29-30)

STC is likely to spend around five thousand pounds on Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

YEAAAAHHH! Another 5k for parties. How much for crime prevention. Shhhh! Don’t ask! How much to pay off debts? Shhhh! Don’t ask! How much for heating LC? Shhhh! Don’t ask!

This is the only point raised by MP Dennis Skinner that I can agree with. The Queen is filthy rich, and whether there is a party in Shirebrook or not will make not the slightest difference to her. Five thousand spent on security issues could save someone’s life.

b. BOLSOVER DISTRICT COUNCIL – INVITE TO CIVIC SERVICE – (PAGE 31)

Fortunately, one Labour councillor has agreed to be the STC representative.

 c. MRS D HINDLEY/ J BUTLER – SHIREBROOK LEISURE CENTRE – (PAGE 32)

d. MRS S CULVERHOUSE – SHIREBROOK LEISURE CENTRE – (PAGE 33)

Both letters were discussed-both addressed to me.

2022/015 TO CONSIDER PLANNING APPLICATIONS AND REVIEW PLANNING DECISIONS – (PAGE 34)

Attention! Attention! New takeaway coming to Shirebrook. I don’t know, but I feel like we have a new takeaway application at almost every meeting. What is going on? Are people really eat so much of it??? I will open my fridge someday, and I will find yet another new takeaway joint.

STC agreed- there is a consensus that we should not interfere with people who want to create businesses. Even when ALL councillors think we already have too many takeaways in Shirebrook.

2022/016 TO RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM THE TOWN CLERK.

The Town Clerk had no information for councillors.

2022/017 TO RECEIVE CHAIRMAN’S COMMUNICATIONS.

a. UPDATES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING.

b. OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION.

Here I tried to find out why there was no item on the agenda about the debt. I was shouted down ignored. Debt? What debt! Is it due in April? Maybe yes, maybe no – nobody knows. Nobody knows anything… yet the Town Clerk decides that councillors have no right to talk about it.

Jen? Are you reading these words? Good…

2022/018 CONFIDENTIAL ITEM/S – Exclusion of the Press & Public.

To resolve that in view of the confidential nature of the items to be discussed, a formal resolution be passed to exclude the press and public from the meeting, pursuant to the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 & the Local Government (Access to Information) Act, Part 1, paragraphs 11.

There was no confidential items to discuss.

2022/019 CONTRACTUAL/BUSINESS MATTERS.

 Nothing to discuss.

2022/020 PERSONNEL MATTERS.

 Nothing to discuss.

2022/021 TO APPROVE THE DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING OF THE TOWN COUNCIL.

Date approved.

END

This is the longest article I ever wrote for S247. Its whole nine pages in my text editor. I think there is no need for an epilogue.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com

Photo by Duané Viljoen from Pexels