let me just remind you of one of my first blog posts:
Labour run Ipswich Borough Council agreed tonight to freeze the new locality budgets which were introduced by the last conservative/lib-dem adminstration.
This is totally unnecessary as Suffolk County Council have already agreed verbally that they will keep the libraries and the school crossing patrols.
Let me guess what is going to happen here - ah yes, Counc Ellesmere is going to say they saved the libraries. This, of course, is nonsense and well they know it, but freezing our locality budgets, in case they need the money, has happened despite this reassurance from SCC.
So folks in Ipswich if you were hoping that you could go to your ward councillor with valid requests for some of their £ 5k locality budget to help your local community, then you will just have to wait. And I think that is totally unreasonable and unjustified.
Let's see what happens to this freeze, if the money is not needed, as I expect will be the case (Counc Ellesmere would not let me ask this question in a supplementary.)
Keep watching this space...............
Ok so back to present. the labour executive have postponed any decision again until Jan 2012, which means that Councillors will not have their locality budget for this financial year. It is shameful and a deceiptful sleight of hand by Counc Ellesmere who thinks everyone in Ipswich is so worried about a couple of libraries that they think IBC should take over the responsibility of this function from Suffolk County Council but not only that, do it when it is to totally unfounded and is really all about scaremongering and getting votes.
I have called this decision in, on behalf of organisations in Ipswich that will now not have ANY access to this money.
I am looking forward to the Overview and Scrutiny call in October 5th!
And of course feel free to give me your opinion on what is more important to you ie
hold back the money just in case the unlikely event it will make any difference to already saved libraries
OR let SCC get on with it and give Councillors their locality budgets
