Highly respected retired senior manager Philip Webster sums up many residents' feelings about an arrogant Council with a history of failure after failure. SIR,- I am incandescent at the remarks of the council's chief executive on the chosen contractor for Westminster Lodge going into administration which obliged the council to hold back from signing the contract with McNamara & Co. In admitting that this required two further financial checks Mr Goodwin says " Neither of these checks raised any financial concerns that OFFICERS FELT SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO CABINET'S ATTENTION BEFORE OR AT THE CABINET MEETING OF NOVEMBER 2". On what authority did Mr Goodwin take it upon himself to make such a decision? He should remember that he is paid to do the will of the elected council and should have realised the magnitude of the responsibilty he was taking unto himself. He may well have thought that many members of the public have little faith in the leadership of our present council and he cannot have failed to be aware that the entire project goes against the wishes of the vast majority of council tax payers, but even so to assume that he alone should make such a decision is arrogance in the extreme. And to compound matters we have a statement from our supine council that they intend to press ahead with such a flawed project come what may despite being presented with a golden opportunity to get off the hook and go back to the drawing board. In making such a decision the council themselves are showing massive arrogance in assuming that their second choice contractor (with an estimate of how many more millions?) will be willing to re-tender at even their original quotation. The council really are in at the deep end and should be glad of the opportunity of salvaging something from the wreckage but they will need much firmer leadership to do so. Their entire history is of failure after failure and an only too willing habit of delegating to officers the authority that they themselves are elected to administer. PHILIP WEBSTER Townsend Drive St Albans |
Announcements: >