tinfoilhat Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Unless CT has gone up by more than £2m, in which case the council have more to spend. The 50% cut is non-negotiable, it has happened. The Government are playing a clever, but cruel game with local government finance. This despite the fact that they claim to support devolving power and finance to local authorities. They are lying, of course. I can't help but think that labour councils (not just Sheffield) aren't trying too hard to adapt and instead using cuts (which lets face it aren't going away whoever wins in May) to gain political mileage. I'd say Tory councils are managing better but there aren't any left are there?;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I can't help but think that labour councils (not just Sheffield) aren't trying too hard to adapt and instead using cuts (which lets face it aren't going away whoever wins in May) to gain political mileage. I'd say Tory councils are managing better but there aren't any left are there?;) You have a point. And I guess that the point scoring is coming from both sides. At the moment though, the Tories are making the rules and those rules are designed to paint Labour councils in a poor light. Personally, I look forward to the day when national and local politicians spend my money wisely and make policies that make my life better. I'd much rather they did that than spend their time scoring points off each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 You have a point. And I guess that the point scoring is coming from both sides. At the moment though, the Tories are making the rules and those rules are designed to paint Labour councils in a poor light. Personally, I look forward to the day when national and local politicians spend my money wisely and make policies that make my life better. I'd much rather they did that than spend their time scoring points off each other. Foolishly I had high hopes of that when the coalition came to be, lib dems could bring things to the table and there would be more of a consensus at what was a pretty dire time. It sort of was but labour, rather than offering alternative to cuts just said that the coalition was doing it wrong, the Tories hardened the lib dems rather than the other way round and were side tracked with bits of nonsense those at the sharp end don't care about. And now enter ukip where shrill posturing now has a foamy mouthed angle to it. And it won't change. It will never change. Ask the French about their half arsed "socialist" leader or the Greeks with their new "radical" PM who is still dancing to a German tune. If anyone is hoping for radical change it isn't going to happen. If anyone is hoping for the state to help them or change their lives you are ****ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I still think £3.5 million spent on the salaries of just 37 council officers is ridiculous, and a cut in that could have gone a long way to plugging some of the gaps, as Rinzwind says. But without support, what can you do? How would a saving on £3.5 million go a long way towards a spending reduction of £63 million? Even if you could save half of it you've gone 2.5% of the way to plugging the gap. ---------- Post added 07-03-2015 at 01:25 ---------- I can't help but think that labour councils (not just Sheffield) aren't trying too hard to adapt and instead using cuts (which lets face it aren't going away whoever wins in May) to gain political mileage. I'd say Tory councils are managing better but there aren't any left are there?;) Oddly enough there are - in the shire counties - and they too are none too happy about the cuts. http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2014/dec/18/council-cuts-local-tories-lead-criticism-as-savings-hit-vital-services Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinzwind Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 How would a saving on £3.5 million go a long way towards a spending reduction of £63 million? Even if you could save half of it you've gone 2.5% of the way to plugging the gap. The council tax increase is estimated to generate £3.3m in revenue. We are suggesting that the council tax increase be replaced by the £2m freeze grant and £1.3m sourced from somewhere else such as a reduction to executive pay. We are not contesting the councils solutions to the rest of the funding gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 The council tax increase is estimated to generate £3.3m in revenue. We are suggesting that the council tax increase be replaced by the £2m freeze grant and £1.3m sourced from somewhere else such as a reduction to executive pay. We are not contesting the councils solutions to the rest of the funding gap. So basically you are happy with cuts in services to vulnerable people but don't want to pay an extra ten bob a week in council tax despite it having been frozen for 4 years. Such caring people we have in this city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Perhaps you should actually know whether we need them or not, before you form your opinion. These people are not members of the council of course, and are not putting our council tax up. Why would they agree to reduce their salaries, they could probably leave and go to the private sector and earn more, leaving the council to backfill the positions, costing the same salary again, plus the cost of recruiting. Let them leave. We have many capable people in Sheffield who would be willing to do the job for a lesser salary. The idea that we have to pay these salaries to get 'the best' people is a myth propagated by the very people who do them. Let's face it, judging by results, they haven't been such a success in a great many areas they operate in. The only reason that salaries have rocketed to the current levels is because they have conspired to pay themselves such sums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Let them leave. We have many capable people in Sheffield who would be willing to do the job for a lesser salary. Really? And your evidence for this is......................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 So basically you are happy with cuts in services to vulnerable people but don't want to pay an extra ten bob a week in council tax despite it having been frozen for 4 years. Such caring people we have in this city. No one is happy with cuts to services, and personally I wouldn't even mind paying more to sustain them - if I thought that the money would be well spent, go towards public services, and if I thought I was getting value for money. But increasing council tax so we can continue paying these people huge salaries hardly suggests that it is, and I don't want to pay more just so they can continue to draw their greedy fat cat salaries which they seem to think they're entitled to. They are not even particularly good at what they do judging by the major **** ups they've presided over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Really? And your evidence for this is......................................... 1) The current lot have presided over some major **** ups, so how good do you think they actually are? 2) The only way to find out is to try it. Advertise the jobs and see how many apply and what quality the applicants are. Are you saying there are no capable people in Sheffield? Where is your evidence for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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