SCANDAL and SCANDAL and one more SCANDAL
The last Full Council meeting of STC ended up with three scandals. At this point of the month, usually, I would present a report from the previous full council meeting, but this time I decided to share something that Labour Party-led STC wanted to keep quiet. To warm you up: in the picture below, I compared the “usage” of energy before I joined STC and the same time frame year after I joined STC. Just look at it.
I tried to talk about this at the STC Full Council meeting. See for yourself how much Chris Kane does not want the discussion on this topic to take place PUBLICLY. This is a short version of a longer recording. I attached a full version of this conversation at the end of the article.
Audio recording:
Transcript:
Cllr Chris Kane (CK)– So you got any question on it now?
Cllr Sylwester Zwierzynski (SZ)– Yes! I wrote speech, if I can read it…
CK– We don’t have time to read it out all out…
SZ- Yeah! Exactly, I knew I will not have time read that, so instead… (What I meant- I KNEW that Chris Kane wouldn’t allow me to read anything that I prepared after 10-month investigation)
CK– NO! Listen to me what I’m saying, I’m conscious of time, we have two officers from BDC, we have more important things on the agenda…
SZ– I think this is more important than anything.
OFF YOU GO- UNDER THE CARPET!!!
Chris Kane has once again prevented me from presenting information to councillors about the thousands of pounds STC has lost due to lack of scrutiny and mismanagement of taxpayer funds in the Leisure Centre. But, since I can’t speak about it in Chamber- I will talk about it outside. Without beating around the bush: precisely ten months ago, I mentioned in an article on S247 that energy consumption at the Leisure Centre is suspiciously high during the summer months. In a nutshell, using a top-up heating system, STC pays more for summer heating than winter heating. Strange? Suspicious? Worthy of attention? You decide. I found it noteworthy.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
I raised my concerns at the STC meeting, and, as usual, I was brushed aside, ignored, and even laughed at by the councillors, who said it was a big building, so it must use a lot of heat. If I find the time, I will compile audio recordings of all my attempts to draw attention to this problem at some point – there were several.
The Leader of STC has repeatedly expressed his ‘displeasure’ with me talking about this in public and trying to ‘lead the public my way’ without all the information. As my questions were ignored, I started to write more about it and, in one article, even announced that I was beginning an investigation into the matter. I also wrote a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to gain the knowledge I am usually denied at STC meetings.
Today, after months of fighting, asking, emailing, and phoning, I can say that the STC has produced a seven-page report on the subject. Perhaps this sounds to you like a serious answer to a serious question. However, at this point, I have to inform you that this report only shows data for the period 31.01.2019 to 31.05.2022 despite the fact that the pellet supply contract started in 2013. So why have I not received the data I asked for in an FOI request until today? The answer is chilling.
WHY DO THEY DRAG THEIR FEET?
On 5 May 2021, I was elected to the STC as the first Conservative in the 100+ year history of Shirebrook Town Council. This was just after the lockdowns. Just before that- over March, April and May, STC received invoices for pellets- the fuel used to heat STC buildings, including the Leisure Centre. Total tonnage supplied – 29 300kg. The amount of energy produced was 99,946 kWh. In lockdown.
I won the election. I started looking at documents. I started asking questions. Suddenly, the same month as the by-election- there is a “change in the way pellets are invoiced”, and if you look at the report, just two months earlier (when it was already known that the by-election would take place), there is a strange CHANGE in the report. What changed? Meter source of reporting of consumption. 140,000 kWh disappears from the STC report. Why this sudden change???
That’s not all: please note the numbering of the invoices. The last invoice in the “old” system is 1858. The first in the new system is 10084. But what is it? I found invoices 10027 and 10083 among the documents – those invoices are not in the report, supposedly prepared by three people “flat out” for months (Chris Kane used that term- listen to the recording at the end of the article). This is one of the invoices missing on the report, notice the date- 4 days before the election! There is one more invoice not on the report. All of them are stuffed probably in March- for what reason? Why, oh why, did STC make those “moves” in the month of the election win of the first Conservative in the town’s history? Just look at one of the missing invoices, and note the date. The election was on the 4th of May 2021. Invoice? “Dated” 1.05.21 but “Invoice date” 31.05.21, yet- not in the report. There are three of those little piggies…
Now let’s look at the same time frame as before (March-April-May), but a year after I joined STC. March, April, and May 2022. My investigation has been going on for several months, and I’m still waiting for the data. LC is fully open because the Lockdowns are gone. How much energy did STC use during this time? 46,631 kWh. Pellets used to produce that energy? 16,960 kg. Explain that, Chris Kane!
Let me help you! Remember graph from start of the article. Here it is again. A graph shows that at lockdown, when the LC was closed, the pellet consumption was twice as much high as it was after the moment someone ‘outside’ came into the STC, during the period when the LC was fully open. The graph is striking. Red- Labour socialists. Blue- 15 socialists and one Conservative.
LEISURE CENTRE IN LOCKDOWN USED MORE ENERGY! HOW?
I emphasise- STC consumed 99,946 kWh of energy at Lockdown when LC was closed. A year later, under the watchful eye of a Conservative Party councillor- consumption had only reached 46,631 kWh. Someone might say this is because STC in Lockdown did not use that much, but before “returning to normal”, they decided to replenish their supplies. However, this hypothesis immediately falls after we analyse the June-December pellet supply. No surprise here – during the period with a Conservative Party councillor, consumption is lower than the year before. Can any readers explain this?
Of course, someone may immediately argue that the consumption data are from different meters, hence the difference. I would like to point out the tonnage of pellets ordered- this is the total tonnage, not the tonnage broken down by two meters. With me at STC Chamber- STC “ordered” 16,960 kg. In the same time frame, but the year before? 29,300 kg. While I was fighting for every vote, distributing leaflets, writing articles, and talking to residents, closed STC burned 33,000 kWh per month. For what? What were they heating so much? Empty rooms?
WORDS ARE MIGHTIER THAN A SWORD
It seems that just asking why we use more in the summer than in the winter has made someone freak out and stop ‘using’ pellets. This alone saved STC thousands of pounds. The small budget surplus that STC had in the previous tax year that I revealed in the “Money, money, money” articles is entirely due to the reduced ‘consumption’ of pellets in LC, and of course, the tax increase served up to us by Labour.
I deliberately put the word “using” in inverted commas. Any reasonable person probably knows what I mean. Sandra Peake and Chris Kane want to hide the fact that they didn’t keep an eye on energy usage in STC. Or maybe they trying to hide something else? Let me quote the only words Sandra Peake said while I was trying to find out when I would finally get the 2013-2018 invoices: “You have to wait till you get it then…”
Thank you, Cllr Sandra Peake. Very helpful!
FOUR MONTHS vs 21 DAYS
According to the Freedom of Information Act- government institutions have 21 days to respond to a request. Today is almost four months since I asked for copies of ALL invoices from AMP. I need to put that data into the spreadsheet. Only by doing this would I be able to see the ‘patterns’ and point out where something is happening that is difficult to explain logically. But at this point, I’m more than sure- there was something wrong going on right under the nose of STC Chairs.
But I can deduct something from the limited data this report has revealed. As you can see from the attached images, even a tiny slice of data allowed me to present a ‘pattern’ of incompetence, mismanagement and almost criminal lack of scrutiny.
So why do I still not have data for the period 2013-2018? This is where I have to speculate. This is just a hypothesis, but after reading the report and the details of the contract between the system provider and the STC, it seems to me that the consumption at the beginning of the contract was fairly low (probably comparable to the period when I got to the STC). Afterwards, it increased because someone noticed that the contract with the AMP was structured unfavourably and non-transparently. Hence, it’s easy to take advantage and use it for your own sinister purposes. I will present this report with detailed commentary later so you will have the opportunity to judge it yourself.
The report I mentioned explains the deal in minimal detail. I asked for a copy of a deal- of course, you probably know- I didn’t get it. But I can deduct how it is constructed from the answers I got. The AMP deal is hopelessly bad for taxpayers. It is as if the intention of its creators was to create a situation in which pellets can be “consumed”, and without care and meticulous observation, it is impossible to see that something is wrong. What’s more- even if we start saving energy, the contract is structured in such a way that we have to use a certain amount of heat, and if I’m not mistaken- if we don’t use as much as agreed: we will pay FINE. This is a sign of madness in this day and age, and STC has signed this contract for…. 20 years! I, for one, have cut the gas consumption in my house by 30% this year. This will save me a lot of money. At STC, it wouldn’t matter-we still pay more or the same. Labour style!
After the first details of this agreement have been revealed, it looks as if someone wants consumption to be high. I will write more about this in the future. I will continue to write about it until I feel any irregularities have cleared up. At this point, I’m happy that usage went down- a small victory for taxpayers.
SECOND SCANDAL
I wanted to speak to the Leisure Centre Supervisor at the first Leisure Committee meeting I attended. The Town Clerk and the then Leader of the Leisure Committee of STC jumped on me and categorically forbade me to speak to her (even though Tracy immediately and without hesitation agreed). Town Clerk stressed that if she wanted to speak to STC staff, everything had to go through her (sic!). This is even more puzzling today. Sandra Peake’s role in this scandal too.
Even though I didn’t like it- I gave up pressing for a meeting with the LC supervisor or any other STC employee. I avoid contact with STC staff for a simple reason- I don’t want them to have problems just because they have spoken to me. The problem is that some STC staff are fed up with the current leadership, and if STC continues to ignore their whistleblowing, then sooner or later, they will decide to leave for better jobs, and STC will lose dedicated experienced staff.
Yes. I avoid talking to STC employees, but at some point, some of them start to seek contact with me on their own. I’m so careful not to interact with STC staff that I also avoid going to Leisure Centre. But it’s employees who want to speak with me. Since taking up my position at STC to date, I have received THREE letters from STC employees signalling serious breaches of ethics, professionalism, numerous conflicts of interest, shady deals, lack of training, being forced to work overtime without pay etc. The previous two letters were anonymous – I cannot act on them, and I cannot respond to them. However, I take them seriously, and thanks to the authors, they help me to understand individual people’s roles in STC better.
Recently, however, one STC staff member was so fed up with what was going on at STC that he wrote a letter and signed it with his name. He didn’t just send it to me-it was received by several other councillors. It would make sense for STC to discuss the allegations in this letter imminently. Several of the issues mentioned in the letter sounds quite severe. What was the reaction of the Leader of STC? “We have no time for it”,- which is the same answer as for my conclusions from the AMP investigation.
We have not discussed the letter even in a word- swept under the carpet, allegedly due to lack of time. Labour style! By the way- how many times have I mentioned that STC meets way too rarely? Eh, never mind… Back to the letter- I’m not sure if I may publish this letter- the author didn’t state that and I don’t want to create unnecessary problems for him, but I will insist on discussing it at the Operations Committee meeting.
Knowing how my “agenda items” are treated- I have no hope for a reliable explanation. (this paragraph was censored for reasons that I won’t publish. Those who read the article right after publication- probably know why.)
THIRD SCANDAL
I cannot write about this scandal because it happened during the ‘secret’ part of the meeting. I can only show what was talked about and tell you how I reacted.
After this discussion, I changed my mind about this deal by 180 degrees. Sadly, this part was “exempt”; therefore, I cannot write anything more. But I’m sad, disappointed and a bit angry about it.
AND NOW…
As I mentioned in the lead to the article: this is a full audio recording of my try to bring the issue of excessive pellet usage in the Leisure Centre with the transcript.
Transcript:
Leader of STC Chris Kane (CK)– Well, this report is for this AMP, for this pellets for Leisure Centre. We have Cllr…
Cllr Sylwester Zwierzynski (SZ)– Sylwester
CK– Sylwester here was going about it, for good months, we have explained him…
SZ– No, no, no nobody explained anything to me.
CK– Its in the minutes Sylwester (no its not)
SZ– No, no wait.
CK– So we’ve explained to him in last meeting
SZ– Nope.
CK– We was all here, he was here…
SZ– Nope.
CK– So you got any question on it now?
SZ– Yes! I wrote speech, if I can read it…
CK– We don’t have time to read it out all out…
SZ– Yeah! Exactly, I knew I will not have time read that, so instead…
CK– NO! Listen to me what I’m saying, I’m conscious of time, we have two officers from BDC, we have more important things on the agenda…
SZ– I think this is more important than anything.
CK– Oh if you want to email this report to each councillor, I will gladly set aside time to discuss it all with every councillor (he don’t want to discuss it publicly- no surprise here; Chris- times when you can sweep issues under the carped ended- this will be discussed publicly- its a public money im talking about here)
SZ– I will do something better, I will just record on YouTube, and I’ll put it. Because first of all I didn’t received invoices, I request 4 months ago. Second of all, on here, here we missing a lot of money, and I’m prepare to discuss it and explain it to you. Im doing this investigation for months…
CK– Stop there. Sylwester, no, Sylwester, just hang on for minute. We explained on 15th of June meeting, that we were working with AMP, Rachel, Jen and James been working flat out, to trying to get all these figures and all these reports, breakdown of the costs, and pellet per ton, what is costing per kW, everything. Im not let you read all that out, because Im conciuous of the time. We gonna run out of time for there exempt items. If you like to come to see Jen with that and myself
SZ– No, no… ( I will not hide behind closed doors- I will discuss it transparently: that why Conservatives went to vote for me)
CK– and any other councillor, I will gladly sit down and talk with you, with Jen and any other councillor who wants to be involved.
SZ– So one question- would I receive invoices I asking in FOI (request).
CK– You goyt all information from AMP
SZ– No, we dont. Im asking FOI for invoices for invoices from 2013 to 2018 and didn’t received them. How I can put information on spreadsheet to see the… the pattern when I dont have…
Cllr Sandra Peake (ex STC LC Comm CHAIR)– You have to wait till you get it then…
CK– Set the date, come and see me, Jen. We go through it all and we can go back to AMP. But on the moment I’m gonna move on… (Im done with AMP now. Now I will focus on STC).
END
Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com
