GOOD NEWS – BAD NEWS
I will start with the bad news – it looks like STC will raise your taxes again. If accepted by Full Council, this will be the tenth tax raise in eleven years. For now, the tax rise was discussed at a Finance and Growth Committee meeting, and as far as I understand, it will be a recommended to Full Council.
There wasn’t even an attempt to find a way to keep taxes at the current level. They went straight into “tax rise is needed.” Ten tax rises in eleven years – this is beyond insanity, but what can you expect from a council that signs a deal that forces taxpayers to PAY FINES FOR NOT PRODUCING CO2?
HIGHEST TAXES – LOWEST STANDARDS
We are the highest-taxed rural town in the UK. 20,000 people living in Ripley pay £350,000 in taxes. 11,000 people in Shirebrook pay £800,000, and for our hungry-hungry hippos in STC, it’s still not enough. They need MOOOOOORE!
Remember when Labour promised not to raise taxes on “ordinary people”? Well, they lied. They raised employers’ NI, and since STC hires an ARMY of civil servants, they need to cover that increased NI – from your pocket, of course. Savings? Not mentioned at the meeting. Additional revenue streams? Not mentioned. Deficit? Not mentioned. Grant applications? Not a word. Any plans to cut the highest expenses in operating costs among all councils in Bolsover District? Nope.
The fact that “we lost some tax base ” was mentioned. A whole new neighbourhood popped out of thin air, and yet, instead of more money, STC claims that we have a smaller tax base. I just can’t even…
One more fact – the meeting about the financial future of our town took… 10 minutes. That was all they needed to raise your taxes. Again.
GROWTH COMMITTEE? MORE LIKE GREED COMMITTEE
This committee calls itself “Finance and Growth,” but the only thing growing at those meetings is taxes. Of course, this proposal must be accepted by the council at the next Full Council Precept meeting on January 29th. At this meeting, the Town Clerk will also present the “STC Finance Report 2024/2025.” Ah! I remember the Town Clerk presenting this report in 2021/22 with errors in the calculations, and then Labour pretending it didn’t happen. There is no trace of it in the STC documents to this day – apart from the ones I keep in my desk.
Fudged numbers in Finance Report? Who cares, right?
GOOD NEWS!
And now for some good news – the scandal at Creswell Leisure Centre has exploded to such proportions that it has wiped out two influential local politicians, including one from Shirebrook. Steve Fritchley is no more. I mean, looking at attendance at STC meetings, he checked out a long time ago, but now he has also left the position of BDC Leader. Officially – retired. Unofficially- forced out. But that is not all – Derbyshire Times published an article detailing this scandal. (linked at the bottom)
They took a £3 million loan and now, thanks to Steve Fritchley and his friends, there is talk about prosecution, bankruptcy, and failure to adhere to fiscal rules. You know what the fun part is – the Creswell scandal is exactly the same as the situation in Shirebrook. With one difference – people in Creswell did something about it. People in Shirebrook… well…
AM I A PROPHET?
I was at the Creswell meeting when this scandal broke out, and I warned people there—this will ruin you. Labour will siphon money from your pockets, and you will end up with Labour friends and family cash-cowing this project and insane taxes on your heads. I was right, but that is not all.
STC wants to take £12 million for a similar idea… Creswell took £3 million (with twice lower interest) and that was enough to break the council.
There is one bit I need to quote from that article: “systemic failure to follow basic legal obligations councillors could face potential prosecution should they have been seen to have contributed to taking illegal decisions and failing to take recommended action to avert financial loss.”
TIME FOR AUDIT IN SHIREBROOK
I was an STC councillor. I know one thing – if a real audit comes to STC, some of “our” councillors and Town Clerk will end up in a similar situation. The Pellet deal SCREAMS CORRUPTION and the whole Labour party ignored it. Buried it. Turned their heads away from the problem like it didn’t exist. And the Pellet Scandal is just the tip of the iceberg of incompetence, nepotism, and corruption in STC.
Read the Derbyshire Times article, but in your mind change “Creswell” into “Shirebrook” and “Well-being Centre” into “Leisure Centre.”
Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com
