“Put it on agenda!”

So far, all my attempts to add items to the agenda of STC meetings have been fruitless. I have therefore decided to make my current attempt public. I would also like to show the people who voted for me that I am not on STC just to criticise and bring to light more Labour Party scandals. 

From my first day as a councillor, my main ambition has been to do something to make our town safer, cheaper to live in and generally better than I found it. That ambition is even stronger within me today than on the first day of my work.

DO YOUR DAMN JOB!
In my opinion, the opposition’s fundamental role in a democratic society is to mercilessly criticise the mistakes and incompetence of those who hold the reins of power, closely observe and report their doings and present alternative solutions to the problems facing society. It seems that I have so far performed the first part of the above “mission statement” in an exemplary manner.

I would also like to prove myself in the second part, but it seems to me that I put so much emphasis on the first part of my task that my activities in the second part go entirely unnoticed – partly through my own fault. Not because I don’t do anything positive, but because I don’t write about it. Therefore, in the last year of my current term of office, I will try to write more about the positive solutions I propose and alternative approaches to existing problems facing our town.

POSITIVE CHANGE
I still hope that the Labour Party will realise that what I have been talking about since day one of my presence at STC is still valid, and the solutions I have proposed will be adopted. STC needs to shift some of the money spent on ‘leisure’ in general and put it into crime prevention. Unfortunately, even after the tragic events of last year, no one at STC has come up with new solutions to keep our community safe. 

STC has not spent even five minutes discussing safety improving ideas. All councillors do is a rant from time to time about the Police stats report, and… that’s it. We, STC, need to change it. So after a year of sitting in the Chamber and learning how STC works, I decided to move forward and be more forthcoming with ideas and solutions.

RULES AND REGULATIONS
In order to change anything in the functioning of the STC, it must first be discussed and voted on by councillors. So today, I will focus on discussing my proposed topics for discussion at the upcoming full STC meeting (15 June 2022).

According to the Standing Orders (one of the most important documents governing the work of the STC), every councillor has the right to propose a topic to be discussed at an STC meeting. However, there are a few rules to follow if you want to put an item on the agenda. Two of these rules are key.

First– you must make the proposal ten “clear” days before the meeting (not counting the day of submission and the day of the meeting). Second– the agenda item must relate to the “responsibilities of the meeting”.

For example, a proposal to discuss a man’s flight to Mars would be rejected because the topic does not fall within the responsibilities of any STC committee meeting. However, a proposal to discuss the growing debt of our township should not be rejected because the proposed topic of discussion falls within the scope of the STC activities and full council meeting. The Town Clerk has the right to correct any spelling or stylistic errors in a proposal but does not have the right to reject a proposal within the “responsibilities of the meeting”.

Even if a proposal is rejected, it should be noted in the documents along with the reason for rejection. So if, after all, civil servants at our Town Hall reject my proposals, I will be able to inform readers of the reasons for this decision. Of course, there are more regulations governing this aspect of STC’s work, and if you would like to read them, you will find them in section 9, subsection “a” to “h” of the Standing Orders posted on our Town Hall website:

https://www.shirebrooktowncouncil.gov.uk/uploads/policy—general—standing-orders.pdf

So much for the law, rules and regulations. So let’s move on to what I would like to discuss with STC councillors. Italic font is the verbatim wording of the proposal I sent to the STC.

ITEM ONE
To discuss the recent “BDC bridge loan” extension, to receive information on the repayment plan of that loan and to receive an explanation of why councillors were not informed of the signing of documents “on behalf of STC” for the extension of the loan repayment term. I request that a copy of the last extension document be made available to each councillor before the discussion.

Why do I want to talk about it?
Why do I insist so much on discussing the town’s debt? Because clouds are gathering on the horizon and anyone who has debt should be aware that historically speaking, interest rates have always been slightly higher than the inflation rate. One only has to look at a historical graph of these two economic indicators to understand that the current situation where inflation is 9% and central bank interest rates are 1% will not last long.

People (and the STC) need to understand that a period of radical interest rate rises is approaching, and if you are in debt “up to your eyeballs” – now is the time to start tightening your belt, looking for savings, additional sources of income and paying off as much debt as possible before rates soar into space (probably to the Mars as mentioned above).

STC pays around £2,000 in interest on the BDC loan every six months. If interest rates shoot up, this amount could be many (nine?) times higher (if interest rates are to catch up with inflation). The Labour-led STC needs to stop burying its head in the sand and explain: how it intends to repay this loan, why it is allowing the debt to generate further interest and why we have failed to repay even a pound of this loan. How long will this debt hang on the town’s financial books before Labour decides to do something about it?

I would also like it explained to me why someone signs a document “on behalf of STC” without informing STC councillors. In my opinion, this is a scandal- especially as it was publicly confirmed that councillors would be informed of updates on this matter. They were not informed of the contract change in either October or April. I had to sniff it out myself.

ITEM TWO
To discuss ambiguities in AMP’s invoices and receive clarification on the unit of measurement for pellet deliveries. I request that a copy of the last AMP invoice be made available to each councillor before the discussion.

Why do I want to talk about it?
It is simple. For the past month and a half, I have been trying to find out the unit of measurement for the supply of pellets to STC. It is a childishly simple question. What is “quantity”? Kilograms? Tones? Bags of xx kilograms? Pallets of xx kg per pallet? It is very suspicious that I have such a big problem getting someone to answer this question.

This information should be included on the invoice. It is not. Why has no one at STC noticed until now that the invoices are formatted incorrectly? I have been asking about LC heating for months. The chair of the Leisure Committee should be on top of it. She wasn’t- hence we have a new Chair of the Leisure Committee. Despite this- I still don’t know the answer. STC needs to explain to the residents and me if the AMP contract is beneficial or if someone is… taking advantage of us. If the latter turns out to be true… well. We will cross this bridge when we reach it…

I would also like the mysterious ‘credit notes‘ to be explained to me, and I would like it to be explained to me why in the STC documents there are accounts for other entities and why the AMP calculate 3×190=650 and not 570 as per the mathematics that children learn in primary school.

ITEM THREE
To discuss the implementation of a weekly fuel usage inspection plan of AMP heating devices installed at STC buildings to determine the real usage of pellets and compare it to previous years.

Why do I want to talk about it?
I am prepared to give up my own time to inspect the heating system and write down the meter reading every week. This is the only way to assess whether there has been a fraud. If the Labour Party denies me the right to this inspection, then in my mind, it will mean that Labour is trying to cover up abuse, incompetence, lack of oversight and maybe even theft.

If Labour Party councillors believe there has been no wrongdoing– they should have absolutely no problem letting me waste a year’s work.

ITEM FOUR
I would like to request that this item be placed as ‘exempt’ because of the sensitive information I wish to present.
To discuss Police and Crime Commissioner ASB grant and propose project ideas.

Why do I want to talk about it?
Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster has re-launched the allocation of anti-crime and antisocial behaviour grants. A few months ago, when the PCC announced the first round of these grants – I was the one who spotted the opportunity and sent the paperwork to STC staff to complete. This time the PCC office has refined the process and sent out an information file to councillors so that the broadest possible group of local activists can learn about the funding opportunity.

Unfortunately, on the occasion of the first edition, due to lack of experience, I stopped supervising the procedure after sending the documents. This will not happen again. This time I will demand insight and information about every step of the procedure so that the situation from the previous edition is not repeated. Especially since the idea I want to present to councillors is something new, not a funding application for something that has been planned since 2016, and there have been funds in the township budget for this investment for a long time (CCTV in Market Square).

A previous STC application was rejected. To this day, civil servants have not shown councillors a copy of the application sent out. How can we improve on anything if we don’t know what mistakes we made? STC should show councillors this application. PCC Angelique Foster suggested this directly to STC councillors at the PCC Summit. If I understood her intention correctly- she was trying to make it clear that there was something seriously wrong with the first application. What? Nobody knows anything. STC style!

But back to the second edition. PCC Angelique Foster outlined the priorities a project should demonstrate to have a chance of funding.

In principle, the Commissioner will be looking for projects:

• That help individuals to live safely and without fear of crime in their homes
• which empower the local community to tackle problems in their neighbourhood areas
• are organised by (and involving) community/neighbourhood groups
• can demonstrate that they can make a difference to local communities
• that take a new and sustainable approach to tackling long term problems
• that foster good relations between partner agencies and communities and do not work in isolation
• that relate to and support the Commissioner’s priorities.

My idea meets six of the seven requirements above. Why am I asking that this item be kept “exempt” (secret)? Some time ago, one of the Labour Party councillors asked me not to publish some specific information regarding public safety on my blog. The project that I want to propose to the STC council is inspired in part by this information. I am convinced that it is not in the public interest to make this part of the project public (why warn bad people about how we will make their lives harder?).

ITEMS SRITEMS
I do not know whether the points I have proposed will be on the agenda. From my point of view, I have met all the requirements of the Standing Orders. I sent the email ten clear days before the meeting. All the points relate to the “responsibilities of the meeting”. However, I am aware that I did exactly the same thing last time, yet my proposed item was not on the agenda.

ROOKIE LOOKING FOR HIS PLACE
I have learnt a lot over the last year, but the lack of any training or help has meant that to this day, I still don’t understand many things and the mechanics of how STC works. However, even Labour’s biggest fans have to admit that when someone takes on a new responsibility, the basic principles should be explained to them.

For twelve months, I have heard about some secret training for councillors. To this day, I have not had it. I am slowly losing hope that it will ever take place. I am not blaming the STC here – from what I understand, the responsibility for implementing this training lies with the BDC.

Imagine a situation like this. You have been trying to get your dream job for years. Finally, by some miraculous coincidence, you get the job. However, when you come to work on the first day, your boss tells you only the name of your position and working hours. So you have to find out the rest yourself. This is what my first year as an STC councillor was like.

What will the second year be like? Check in regularly on S247, and you’ll know as much as I do.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com