Just making excuses

No sir, we should blame you the council. It may have escaped your selective memory but ‘the cuts’ began under the last Labour administration, following the Icelandic banking collapse in which 100 councils in Great Britain, Sunderland Council among them, I believe, lost ratepayer’s money.

Yes, that’s correct ratepayers’ money.

Quite why money was placed with foreign banks, apart from the burning desire to make more money from high deposit rates, when there are plenty of banks in the UK, I don’t know.

Why do councils need to make a profit anyway?

Their job is to provide the services that we, the public, provide money for.

For years ratepayers (or council tax payers, to be more correct) had faced ever increasing bills.

Central government was watching but the Icelandic carry on was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The council is simply making excuses to cover its own money mismanagement.

I’m sure there are further savings to be made ‘back office’. For example, how much of a rise did councillors award themselves this year? What kind of a rise did administration staff receive and why did they (and councillors) get one when local government pensioners had to go without (and will probably have to do so next year too)?

As I said this all boils down to poor money management.

The streets go dirty because there aren’t the staff to clean them but there are managers aplenty still in jobs to oversee these non-existent staff.

As an example of mismanagement, three parks in the west corridor of the city are an eyesore because the council doesn’t have the money to tidy them up.

And why don’t they have the money?

If you go to Herrington Country Park, opposite Penshaw Monument, you will see why. All the staff that ever there was are employed there virtually full-time keeping it immaculate.

Two words to the council from the citizens of Sunderland – sort it!

Name withheld