BLACKPOOL COUNCIL - THE SHOCKING AND PATHETIC TRUTH

BLACKPOOL COUNCIL - THE SHOCKING AND PATHETIC TRUTH

92% OF VOTERS WANT BLACKPOOL COUNCIL'S JULIAN KEARSLEY SACKED

92% OF VOTERS WANT BLACKPOOL COUNCIL'S JULIAN KEARSLEY SACKED

BLACKPOOL'S GREATEST VISITOR ATTRACTION OF 2008

From out of town? Get directions to the sinking ship here

MARGARET KEREKJARTO - UN-ENDEARING SNOTTY, IGNORANT ATTITUDE

MARGARET KEREKJARTO - UN-ENDEARING SNOTTY, IGNORANT ATTITUDE
Note to MARGARET KEREKJARTO, JULIAN KEARSLEY and leaders of Blackpool Council.

The council tax payers of Blackpool have a right to voice opinion on service dished out by people they pay to employ. It's called free speech and it would be irresponsible of me not to bring your actions to the attention of other council tax payers on the Fylde coast.

The service you offer is short of pathetic. Who is manning the enquiry desks at the council offices in Blackpool?? Some 12 out of 15 desks left unoccupied in the busiest period the other day.

It seems Kearsley, Kerekjarto and the rest are pretty incompetent at doing their job so it seems logical for them to be relieved of their positions within the council.

CASH DOWN THE DRAIN?

Since when has Blackpool needed a celebrity to re-open a primary school? How much extra does it cost the Blackpool council tax payer?

Dame Kelly Holmes - Waste of money?

The figures don't lie - http://tpa.typepad.com/home/files/council_spending_uncovered_1_publicity_north_west_regional_table.pdf Blackpool publicity spending has shot up a staggering 420% in the last 10 years, is it any wonder?

I think it is time Blackpool council spent tax payers money on cleaning the town centre up rather than luvvying it up with celebs at our expense.

BLACKPOOL COUNCIL TAX RECOVERY - SEX DISCRIMINATION?

Sorry if the following doesn't make much sense. I'm typing in a furious mood.

As a Blackpool resident I am appalled by the way Blackpool Borough Council deals with it's council tax payers. I have just received a letter from the council to inform me that an outstanding payment was due from last year - first I've heard of it. Not only that, Julian Kearsley decided to contact my employer (without informing me) to recover the debt out of my wages.

First thing's first. My ex wife was claiming as a single occupier of the property we both owned and because I was paying the full mortgage it was agreed that she would pay the council tax. It should therefore be obvious to the council that my ex wife was living alone in the property and should - at the very least - be 50% responsible for the outstanding balance.

I contacted the council this afternoon and requested to speak to Julian Kearsley. As I suspected, Mr Kearsley was far too busy (poss hob-nobbing with celebs or just too self important) to speak to me and I was put through to a lady called Margaret Kerekjarto.

From the outset I was not impressed with Mrs Kerekjarto's snotty attitude. I told her that the council have caused me problems with my employer - not for the first time. Her attitude was pretty much tough, you are 50% responsible for the debt so we'll take the money however we wish. I was appalled with the attitude and response and I asked why they hadn't therefore taken 50% from my ex-wife. She responded again by saying we'll get the money from whoever we wish.

I told her I wasn't happy with this and I felt it was my duty to warn other Blackpool council tax payers of the actions taken by the council if they or their ex partner fail to pay their debts. Unfortunately it would seem the council would prefer to take the money off the gentleman rather than the lady - to me this smacks of sex discrimination.

Like I said earlier, this is the second time this has happened to me in the exact same circumstances. Last time I informed the council of my ex-wife's employers but again they have failed to take part payment from her when she is living alone at the property.

I called Mrs Kerekjarto again in the last few minutes to inform her of my actions and how I felt duty bound to inform other Blackpool residents of the council approach to debt recovery. She said she takes it as a threat and will report me - which incidentally sounds like a threat in itself. Let's face it, if she was happy with the council's actions then it wouldn't be a problem.

It's offensive to think that the money taken from my wages may possibly pay towards council leader's celebrity love-ins with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Dame Kelly Holmes and the like.

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Blackpool Town hall bosses are 100,000 pound big hitters

From Blackpool Gazette

BLACKPOOL is among the local authorities where top-earning bosses are taking home more than £100,000-a year in their pay packets.
The figures for town hall wage bills across the country have been compiled by campaign group the TaxPayers Alliance which examines council spending.

Its second annual Town Hall Rich List reveals that 818 local authority employees nationwide earned more than £100,000 for the financial year 2006/07.

Blackpool Council employs five people who earn more than £100,000.
Those earning the big bucks salaries include chief executive Steve Weaver and four of his executive directors.

A Blackpool Council spokeswoman said: "The salaries of council officers are independently reviewed and bench-marked using the salaries of other unitary authorities.

"In 2006/07 there were five employees whose total remuneration package came to more than £100,000.

"Blackpool has huge ambitions and it vitally important that the council attracts and retains staff that can achieve the long term aims of the town.

"The council's gross budget is over £400m of which staff salaries make up a very small proportion."

Lancashire County Council is listed as employing five people on more than £100,000, while Blackburn-with-Darwen, which is Blackpool's nearest other unitary authority, employs six people over the £100,000 mark. Fylde and Wyre do not employ anyone at that level.

The wage bills were revealed as residents received their council tax bills for the coming year, with rises of up to 4.99 per cent on the Fylde coast.

Derek Bunting, of Birkdale Avenue, Bispham, who is a member of the Is It Fair?, a campaign group against rising council tax, said such high salaries were "a drain" on town hall budgets.

He said: "Someone has to pay for these people - it's a drain on the council tax. I am always watching the council tax increases and looking for justification.

The council tax payer can't see value for money when these people come in on salaries over £100,000. It doesn't make sense."
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers have a right to know how much senior town hall officials are being paid because only then can we judge whether they deserve their remuneration.

"Too often, council executives are rewarded handsomely even when they fail. Families and pensioners are struggling with the demands of yet another council tax rise, and councils owe it to them to cut back on executive pay hikes."
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