So the Council decided last night to hold a referendum on the much debated subject of a Parish Council for Ramsgate. No doubt that Ramsgate First will be declaring it a victory. Well we will have to see, the outcome will depend on the question and the quality of the information available during the campaign. No doubt Ramsgate First will employ all the spin they can muster and lure people into voting for a Parish Council with promises of swimming pools, clean streets, extra policemen and all the other tit bits they can think of. At no point during the campaign will they be able to provide costings for this, other than to say that it will only cost another £25.00 on the council tax. They really should ask the cost of things before making wild promises, if a Parish Council is formed the Charter Trustee's will be abolished and all the assets handed over to the Parish Council. The Charter Trustee's assets DO NOT INCLUDE Albion House, all they hold are the Town Regalia. Some of the things they ( Ramsgate First ) havnt considered therefore are, the cost of aquiring and running a building to house themselves, the cost of staff to service a Parish Council, the cost of holding parish elections every year or four years depending on which option they choose, the cost of purchasing and maintaining IT, if they convert to a Town Council there will be the cost of the Mayor, hospitality for visitors, cost of the Mayors trips, the list is endless.
No doubt these refugees from UKIP who are desperate to have the prefix Cllr in front of their name will lie and spin their way through any referendum campaign in a final frantic effort to become COUNCILLORS!!!!
I would urge everyone to think very carefully about what they are doing and the potential effects on Council Tax in Ramsgate when they cast their vote.
Oh , and still no news of the 'Silent Six' presumably another fanciful thought from these Walter Mitty type characters.
This Blog will be a series of ocassional postings on life and happenings in Thanet.. I have a myriad of sources and sometimes you will be able to read things here first because you definitly wont be able to read them in the appaling rags that pass for 'newspapers' here in Thanet. I have not turned on comment moderation, outspoken, critical comment and replies are ok, but I will not tolerate racist, sexist, derogatory or abusive comments in any replies.
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September
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5 comments:
For the first time, I think we agree!
The leader of the Ramsgate First campaign is Gerry O Donnell, who has stood for Council before I believe. You are absolutely right, this Town Council wont be paid for by the Council Tax they already pay. Its an add-on to Ramsgate residents Council Tax. It also adds another thick layer of bureaucracy. People have no idea who is responsible for what at the moment. Having a Parish Council is likely to confuse matters even more.
Seems everyone has their own slant on what is what but none tell the truth.
Council Tax minus Charter Trustees cost + Parish Council cost - seems a fair trade to me just to get the old cronnies out whatever flag they fly....
How much do the Charter Trustees cost? Im pretty sure itll cost more to run a Parish Council than it costs to run the Charter Trustees. Its important this is worked out before the vote happens so that the residents can make an informed decision.
The bill for ramsgate residents will indeed be very high. Currently the Charter Trustees (CTs)cost approx £8.50 per year. The new set up will cost substantially more even before it does anything like the false promises made by O'Donnell!
There will be staff costs, the CT's have one secretaty. There will be accommodation costs, TDC are legally obliged to provide premises for CTs, this is not the case with a Parish/Town Council. Then there will be other associated costs with employing staff including a Parish/town Clerk and the many staff needed to run this extra layer of government.
of course O'Donnell carefully avoided pointing this out to the residents who signed the 'petion'.
Now the truth will out.
Anonymous said on 24th Sept,
" Council Tax minus Charter Trustees cost + Parish Council cost - seems a fair trade to me just to get the old cronnies out whatever flag they fly "
You also seem to have fallen into the trap set by O'Donell, what he hasnt said is that as soon as a Parish Council is formed they ( Ramsgate First )will reinstate the Mayor and all the trappings that go with it so the Council Tax will not be minus the Charter Trustee's costs, the bill for Ramsgate Residents will still include the costs associated with The Mayor and CT's PLUS the cost of running a Parish/Town Council PLUS the cost of all the schemes that they are proposing. O'Donell has already admitted that a Ramsgate Council will probably start of with debt and the cost of that debt will add to your Council Tax bill. I do wish people would stop and THINK before forming an opinion on something as important as this.
O'Donell and his crew are very adept at using the spin and smoke and mirror tactics they say they despise in Politicians.
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