Oh dear, the council cited above could almost be a mirror held to my parish council. In one warped sense this could be considered reassuring (phew, it's not just us then), but simultaneously viewed as frightening (why can't something be done to stop this happening time and time again, all over the country?). I despair that there is no proper body overseeing/monitoring/controlling the behaviour of parish/town councils that has real sharp teeth to tackle any improprieties/irregularities/maladministration that arises. So many councils on this forum seem to be facing the same problems, day in, day out, year after year, and yet nothing concrete appears to be done. It is very depressing. No wonder no one wants to stand as a town/parish councillor any more. I don't hold any store in the ALCs either - they appear to be happy to take increasingly large subs annually while providing little other than empty rhetoric and worthless self-promoting campaigns - all at the expense of the electors. It seems that the only person who gains from having this tier of government in place with all too flaccid and vacuous rules and regulations is the Clerk, who in many cases costs local tax-payers an unacceptably large proportion of their precepted monies, leaving an almost ridiculously small amount for the council to allocate for community projects and essential work. Where is the good value for money in that situation? It beggars belief that it can continue in this way in this day and age. I am sure I am not alone in wondering whether small councils like ours (with a yearly precept of well under £25,000) should be wound up as they could be considered quite reasonably to be divisive and elitist institutions, that are frankly unviable.
