Expectations of Our Town Council - Not Met!!!



Need a referendum? - Don't need a Referendum?
20% Increase last year? Yes and imposed -
20% Increase this year, better ask the residents.


What should we be expecting from our Town Council when they are making decisions, or not in the case of the Church Farm Museum funding, on our behalf. How about logic, consistency and leadership? All of those things would appear to be pre-requisites to me but in the case of Church Farm Museum funding none appear to be present.

Let's look at them individually. Logic first. How can it be logical for the Town Council to go to the population of Skegness with a referendum when the council themselves have not satisfied themselves that the business plan they are working to, provided by the Church Farm Organisation, is sufficient for them to make a decision. They are going to spend thousands of pounds on a referendum when they may not wish to accept the outcome of it. If the residents say yes and then the council say no because of their worries about the business plan it will have been a total waste of time and more importantly, money. Is not having a referendum based on a business plan that concerns the council so much that they cannot make a decision on it putting the cart before the horse?

Next consistency. Where is there any in this decision? Not too long ago the council spent circa £80,000, I am informed that was the cost, on the Sunshine Play Area, an attraction for Skegness. Did they ask the residents if they should do that through a referendum? The plain answer is no, they did not. They went ahead and did it. Not a bad decision in my opinion but one that, given their lack of decisiveness over the Church Far Museum spending, would lead me to say that a referendum should have been put in place for it? After all it was twice as much of tax-payers money being spent? Why the ability to make the decision on one and not the other? Why no referendum required in that instance? Perhaps there is not the will to spend the money on Church Farm Museum that there was on the Play Area. Is that the case?

Again when we think of consistency, where is there any in the statement in the Skegness Standard by one of our Labour Town Councillors. Talking about our council tax he asked, "Will the ordinary residents agree to a hike of nearly 20 per cent?" Why on earth ask that question now? The councillors, he was one of them, who voted for a bigger increase last year did not ask the question. They just went ahead and made the decision that they would impose the increase. You can check your Council Tax bill from year 2010/2011 to see how much the increase was for you in percentage terms. Again this was as a result of the spend on the Sunshine Play Area.

Finally we come to the issue of leadership. Quite simply the councillors have not shown any. To not make a decision on this or to not put themselves in the position to be able to do so really is a "cop out". To ask the residents of the town to make the decision, when the councillors are in a much better position to do so, with the facts and figures at hand is the easy way out, the wrong way out. That is not to lead the community they represent but to stand behind it. Yes, no, or "we need more information" as decisions would be acceptable, a referendum with all the cost and delay that will bring is not, especially when the decision of the residents cannot be viewed as binding on the council who have yet to accept that the business plan is viable.

In the meantime, nothing happens. Church Farm Museum remains under threat and the people trying to keep it alive as a charitable company are left in limbo. Skegness needs it's attractions. Church Farm Museum is unique amongst them and should be allowed to continue into the future, bigger and better!! It will be a crying shame if the delays and uncertainties caused by Skegness Town Council not making a much needed decision on this, stops that from happening.