Councils could find more cash

1:27pm Wednesday 11th July 2001

LAST week, Lester Posner (Posner's Politics, Page 2, BFP) raised some interesting-and significant-issues.

Wycombe's "Socialist" Mayor is preoccupied with wearing the Baubles of Office since otherwise, it must be assumed, he will be insignificant.

Meanwhile, county council leader Cllr Shakespeare whilst silently condoning the £1.5 millions of council tax being diverted to paying councillors and the cabinet is bewailing the lack of cash and concern for priorities which are not his!

Our county and district councils appear more and more to be conundrums wrapped up in enigmas encasing civic voids.

For example, if the councils are seriously short of cash why do they not re-assess houses which have been extended and enlarged? I have raised this with my ward councillors and our former D.C Chairman all of whom admitted they didn't even know that this anomaly existed but when informed did not do anything about it.

So I have had to go through the entire system up to the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg which is considering it in terms of inequality and unfairness.

The affluent are being subsidised by the less affluent but if the moaning-minnies on the councils applied basic equality in council tax assessment then they would have more funds to play with!

Secondly, Sir Wm Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow has achieved yet another record. A mere 16 weeks since the district council approved the plans for a 14-unit car park for teachers within feet of five listed buildings, and leading on/off the A4155, work has started on its construction. Money isn't short on this issue.

Yet, despite the fact that, over the past 30 years, school pupil numbers have increased five-fold, age entrance has been reduced, and girls included, no crossing of the A4155 has been produced for those students who have to cross that road.

The money, councillors continually tell us, "is not available" yet it suddenly emerged with effect for that car park.

If councillors think the council is really hard up they could refuse their allowance! Or they could have some open public meetings to report what they are doing, hope to do in the future, and, maybe more important, ask us voters that we think!

Or does "being elected" mean the sudden revelation of a total monopoly of civic wisdom from which we mere voters are excluded?

Bill Purdie

West Street

Marlow

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