Open Letter about Council Consultation sham

Dear Sir/Madam

Can I severely object to the report on the Sutton Coldfield budget consultation meeting posted on the City Council website. The points made by several people at the meeting that the consultation was a fraud and the meeting would be recorded to avoid any serious criticism of the Council. These points have been confirmed by the report made of the meeting. I print below the report given on the website. The report is wrong on almost all respects. Two resolutions were put (listed below NOT “A resolution”). Since theofficials had copies of resolutions WHY weren’t resolutions listed on the website as part of the report? The report on voting on the resolutions is also inaccurate. Surely a school student could make a better effort in reporting the meeting!!

The first resolution was taken in parts the first part was passed with nearly all participants in the meeting voting with 3 against. The second part of the resolution was passed again with most of the meeting voting with 5 against.

Mostly obviously the second resolution is covered up in the report given it called for pay cuts for the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive Sephen Hughes who is on an obscene salary of £235,000 a year. Again WHY was the second resolution not published given it was passed unaminously? Were the Council officials worried that the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council would angry with them?

Report on the website:
A resolution was put against the cuts and in favour of reinstating cuts/staff salaries. Less than half of the meeting indicated, by a show of hands, that they were in favour.

Resolutions passed at the meeting.

Resolutions to the budget consultation meeting 3.11.11.

Resolution 1

This meeting opposes all the cuts Birmingham City Council is proposing in the 2012/13 Budget.
It further calls for the reinstatement of all the cuts in the 2011/12 budget in particular reversing the massive pay cuts (up to £5,000 a year) being imposed on many City Council workers.

Resolution 2

The official rhetoric on the cuts is that we are all in this together. In line with this establishment line it is agreed to support the following.
The percentage cut in the 2012/13 budget agreed by the Birmingham City Council will be the same percentage cut in Councillors allowances and pay of the Chief Executive and directors of the Council’s departments.
For example if the Council agrees a 10% cut in services for Birmingham people, the allowance of the Council leader and the pay of the Chief Executive will be cut by 10%.

I am also sending this complaint to the Birmingham Mail since they might not be so keen to COVER UP the details of this consultation meeting that you seemed to be committed to.

Stuart Richardson

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Report from Sutton Coldfield Budget Consultation Meeting

A report on the City Council budget consultation meeting last night
at the United Reform Church Sutton Coldfield. There are more meetings coming up around Birmingham which we would encourage people to attend

The meeting started with a presentation by a council official on the programme of cuts the Council is proposing over the next four years. There was a number of responses from the audience.

1. Since these proposals were political why was there no presence of local Councillors from Sutton Coldfield and Erdington. One local resident said it was a disgrace the local Tory MP and government minister was not present to justify these massive attacks on vulnerable people.
2. Others disputed statements in the Council budget document which says in part “our top services priorities are as follows: …helping people into work” A Unison member stated this was a desperate misrepresentation given that Connexion workers (whose job is to help young people into jobs) were being cut from 350 to 70 employees. Cutbacks for people with disabilities were also condemned.
3. Others stated that the whole procedure of taking down peoples comments was a fraud and the meeting should consider collective statements in the form of motions to the meeting. This was agreed after much resistance from the supposed “independent” chair.

The meeting voted to reject all the Council Cuts and proposed that if the Councillors and the Chief Executive approve 10% cuts then the Chief Executive’s pay and the Councillors allowances would be cut by the same amount. Out of a meeting of 40 only 3 people voted against the first part of resolution one and 5/6 against the second part with a small number of abstentions in each case. The second resolution was passed unanimously

The resolutions are listed below

Resolutions to the budget consultation meeting 2.11.11.

Resolution 1

This meeting opposes all the cuts Birmingham City Council is proposing in the 2012/13 Budget.

It further calls for the reinstatement of all the cuts in the 2011/12 budget in particular reversing the massive pay cuts (up to £5,000 a year) being imposed on many City Council workers.

Resolution 2

The official rhetoric on the cuts is that we are all in this together. In line with this establishment line it is agreed to support the following.

The percentage cut in the 2012/13 budget agreed by the Birmingham City Council will be the same percentage cut in Councillors allowances and pay of the Chief Executive and directors of the Council’s departments.

For example if the Council agrees a 10% cut in services for Birmingham people, the allowance of the Council leader and the pay of the Chief Executive will be cut by 10%.

An announcement was also made about a Birmingham Against the Cuts public meeting at 7 pm Thursday 24th November Council House with Christine Blower General Secretary of NUT and Joe Morgan Regional Secretary of GMB as well as other speakers.

Report from Stuart Richardson