MONEY MONEY MONEY 2022 Part 1

The time has come to compare the financial situation of all councils in our District once again. On 21.6.22, I sent a Freedom of Information Act request to every authority in our District. At the date of writing this introduction (16.7.22), I had not received a response from four out of the sixteen, and one had given a partial answer for technical reasons (the audit had not yet been approved by vote).

Until the full text is completed, I will try to obtain this data to give readers the best possible picture of the whole. So if you see a space in the tables marked red, it means that I have obtained the data in an alternative way (not from FOI but from direct attempts to contact councillors in this authority). If the space is blank, it will mean that I have not been able to obtain the data.

This year I have added one crucial element to the FOI request – the question of the number of people employed in each authority. About that- later. Now let’s focus on something far more interesting- debt.

DEBT
We’ll start with a chart I won’t comment on at all. It is a graph showing the level of debt at the end of the fiscal year. One note- Shirebrook’s debt was ‘rolled over’ again on 14 April, and additional interest was added. The chart does not take that into account. I am a councillor but was not shown this document, and the decision to roll over the debt was not discussed at STC Chamber at any of the meetings. Who made this decision? I don’t know. When? I don’t know. Why were the documents not shown to councillors? I do not know. Transparency – Labour style!

TAXES- DON’T WE ALL LOVE THEM???
Now it’s time to look at local taxes. How much do residents pay to maintain their local council? Here’s the answer.


SHIREBROOK- HIGHEST TAXES AS ALWAYS!
Shirebrook residents don’t mind high taxes. In fact, until now, people have been paying more taxes yearly, and no one has protested against it. At first, I thought the people of Shirebrook were desensitised, indifferent, lacking hope for change or simply so rich that high taxes didn’t bother them.

After a year of sitting in the Chamber of STC, I am beginning to change my mind about this: most residents do not know that they pay 100% more tax than, for example, South Normanton residents. Those who know this accept it with resignation.

If there is growing opposition in our community to Labour-led STC’s tax policy, that opposition is not about the amount of taxes but about HOW that money is spent. At the moment, I can accept the thesis that Shirebrook is so wealthy that 100% higher taxes than in other councils (South Normanton, for example) are acceptable to residents because STC runs the Leisure Centre. The quality of LC services is exceptionally high, so it’s a good value for those who use it. I have not met a SINGLE person complaining about the quality of LC’s services, which is probably the best confirmation that they are doing a good job there (I can’t know- I don’t use it).

However, I refuse to accept that last year, we spent well over a quarter of a million on general ‘leisure’ purposes, and at the same time, we spent zero pounds on crime prevention. Even LC staff have to admit that this is not a healthy situation. I would still argue that STC could reallocate some of the ‘leisure’ funding to other purposes without losing the quality of services and jobs at the Leisure Centre.

THERE IS MORE TO IT
A second bottom is also hidden in the data presented in the table above. Below I present another table which shows ‘tax per capita’. Yes, I know- many people do not pay taxes because, as a civilised society, we have recognised that children, the disabled, the disadvantaged, and the elderly need some relief or total exemption from tax. However, let’s also face it- in every society, there is a group of ‘social spongers’- people who think they are entitled to everything for free. The ‘per capita’ indicator is entirely unscientific but shows an interesting relationship between tax collected and the actual tax base of authority. For example, the table below indicates that Whitwell and Shirebrook pay disproportionately more tax than the rest of the District. Let’s look at this in more detail.


LIKE TWO PEAS IN THE POD
Shirebrook and Whitwell. What do these two authorities have in common? Well- for most people, the answer will be: “nothing”. However, this is where I come in. There is also tangible proof that my “journeys” described in the series “A visit to …” will once again bring an actual, measurable effect. During my visit to Withwell, I met the leader of this Council- Tom Munro. Do you recognise that name, readers? No? Well- you should, because Tom Munro is not only the leader of WPC. Tom Munro is also one of the leaders of BDC!

The other leader in the BDC is Steve Fritchley- vice Chair of STC. Can you see the correlation? The two leaders of DBC are also the leaders of the most expensive councils in the District. Knowing their approach to treating taxpayers- do you think BDC is effectively run? What would we find if we started looking more closely at BDC’s operations? What would we find if we compared the tax burden imposed by BDC on residents with other Districts?

I’m going to guess: you-like me-don’t have a clue what’s happening at the BDC. So don’t you think it would be nice if someone in the BDC would give regular updates on everything there? Someone who would look at the hands of the leaders and civil servants, read the documents, go to all the meetings and draw up FOIs when something looks strange?

Ah, if only we had someone like that in Shirebrook… wink wink

To conclude this topic– leaders set the tone for the whole. Leaders whose policies are based on high taxes at the Parish level will do the same at the District level. Therefore, people should replace such leaders.

HOW MANY ARE TOO MANY?

Shirebrook employs five times as many people as South Normanton, two and a half times as many as the region’s largest town Bolsover. That’s nothing. Hold on tight because it will hurt: the combined population of Bolsover, South Normanton, Pinxton, Blackwell and Barlborough is 33,865 people. All these councils employ as many people as one Shirebrook alone.

33,000 vs 9760. The only difference between Bolsover and Shirebrook is the Leisure Centre. In other words- Labour Party is telling us all that there are six full-time and 12 part-time employees at Leisure Centre. Do you believe that?

Of course, I acknowledge- the sheer number of people employed says nothing. Many of these people may be used ‘ad-hoc’ or for a few hours. However, there is a way to compare the actual cost of employment. Please read the next episode in this series, where we will examine the cost of operation and the staff cost in our District’s Councils. Tune in the following Monday. As usual- the publication is around 6 am.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com