This week I sent the Town Council Assistant Clerk a request to inspect the Council meeting
minutes, which are public record.
I received no reply so I sent the office an email saying I would visit the office today
and at 11.00am
Very early this morning the Mayor Councillor Adam Lowe sent me a email.
When he refers to the Lib gems, I think he means the Libdems the party which I joined
last month. Cllr Adam Lowe is a Tory member something he lied about in a during conduct investigation he claimed I was not telling the truth when I blogged about his membership.
He has since become very open about his long term membership.
His email is in my opinion bizzare and typical of his poor ongoing conduct towards me.
He clearly has a serious issue if he thinks I am being oppressive for simply asking to
inspect public minutes of our council.
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 5:31 AM
From: "Adam Lowe"
To: "Martin Brookes"
Cc: "Gale Waller"
Subject: Re: Minutes
Martin
Your demands upon the Office and the fact they are dealing with several FOI requests for you already will mean that things will take time, the Office will not drop everything for any Cllr at the drop of a hat.
You are the one that keeps telling me the Chairman has no powers so repeatedly copying me in and asking me is clearly an attempt to get me to help you break rules or put pressure on the Office, not going to do that.
This level of oppressive behaviour may be acceptable in the Lib gems, it is not an acceptable level of behaviour in Oakham Town Council, and I have heard about your persistent 'stalking' and 'hanging around' the Town Council Office, also not acceptable.
You are aware also aware of your contact procedure with the Office which you appear to choose to ignore.
I would suggest you speak to your counsellor and accept the counsel they do give you, when Cllr Waller told me some time ago of what she believed was the best way to handle you and your 'condition' I was concerned it would not work, perhaps now is a good time to remind her of that and my only advice is that in the future Cllr Waller should not be discussing with Oakham Town Councillors that she is counselling you at all.
Your behaviour has improved, it would be a shame to see that work that Cllr Waller has put in go to waste.
Bottom line, if you submit a request, like any Cllr, the Office will look at it and advise when information is available and when and where it can be seen, you already know, in your words, 'fishing trips' are not permitted by Councillors, any and all information likewise is not always available to all Cllrs, you must be patient.
Regards
Adam Lowe
MY RESPONSE
'Dear Cllr Adam Lowe Chairman,
Thank you for your email, some of the content I find very offensive and untruthful.
Once again you start with an exaggeration, I am only aware of two FOI I placed with the office earlier this year
neither satisfactorily resolved.
The rules state a chairman is meant to assist members resolve disputes, so this is why I copy you in when the
office has failed to comply with a basic routine request, A basic request which could come from any Councillor or a member of
the public. That basic request is to see the folder of public minutes and as a Councillor the exempt minutes.
I have not made any demand, I have made a couple of polite requests to see the folder which includes the exempt minutes only
available to Councillors.
I do not think passing a folder to a Councillor is a great demand on the office time. accept it appears the minutes
I want to see, covering your unlawful exclusion of me from meetings last year can not be found by the assistant
Clerk or she is being instructed not to allow me to see them, I suspect the latter.
I sent a polite request to inspect the minutes myself again yesterday and was ignored. I tlephoned the office at 9.00am
and 10.00 am and the phone was not answered, I followed this up with an email saying I would pop in at the office at 11am
today giving the assistant Clerk plenty of opportunity to change the time if required.
I note your comments about Rutland Councillor Gale Waller and find them unhelpful.
'your 'condition' ' Strange how you always result to this insult when things are not going the way
you want them? If I suffer from any condition as you keep stating, it is a condition that I do my job
as a Councillor and seek a Council that doe not bully members for wanting a council that serves
our community and does that in a correct an lawful manner. The bench painting is a clear example
of further unlawful conduct which is unacceptable it is also unacceptable that you text me saying
the office are not involved in anyway when the assistant Clerk signed the work order.
You say:
'Your behaviour has improved, it would be a shame to see that work that Cllr Waller has put in go to waste.'
My behaviour? really Cllr Adam Lowe and who are you to constantly judge me. Answer a bully and a man who constantly
lies about me.
You Say:
'fishing trips' are not permitted by Councillors,
Asking to see the minutes a Councillor and members of the public are entitled to see is not a fishing trip.
The minutes should be published on-line this is a legal requirement which the council has failed to comply with
for over nine months now, a costly new website was launched this month and is missing most if not all legal
requirements. I am not on a 'fishing trip' I am simply attempting to find out if the council did follow correct procedures
when it held meetings locked in the office to finalise matters to get rid of the Clerk who you said acted unlawfully and was in breach
of his contract. I do not believe you did follow correct procedure and the missing minutes and the councils refusal to let me
inspect the minutes and you manner towards me suggests my suspicions are justified.
If documents like our standing orders, financial regs, audit reports etc were published only those who did not have access
to the internet would need to trouble the office.
You Say:
'This level of oppressive behaviour may be acceptable in the Lib gems, it is not an acceptable level of behaviour in Oakham Town Council, and I have heard about your persistent 'stalking' and 'hanging around' the Town Council Office, also not acceptable.'
Once again you show you have a serious issue with me which is unacceptable, three requests over a period of three weeks to inspect
a minutes which are a public record. Oppression is a very odd and offensive word to describe my basic requests of the council, Oppression is prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority. niether am I guilty of.
Your false serious allegation of 'stalking and 'hanging around the Town Council Office' is history repeating itself and something you and members
often use in an attempt to discredit me. As I have said before I am fully aware of the CCTV around the town and suggest you stop these
stupid lies.
The simple fact is last year the council unlawfully excluded me from meetings which were moved to the locked office.
When I complained correct procedure was not followed, you and the office lied to me and the monitoring officer by stating
the exclusion took place in the locked office and that action was recorded in the exempt minutes folder.
That I beleive is a lie because for a start because I learnt the other week there is not a separate folder and the office could not
find the minutes I was asking to see.
You Say:
'any and all information likewise is not always available to all Cllrs, you must be patient.'
I have been very patient, I am simply asking to see the minutes I am legally entitled to see. Are you suggesting I be
patient so new minutes can be reproduced to replace those that can not be found? I am aware that the members
approved the exempt minutes rather daftly with seeing them first, something wich was correted for the first time
at the last meeting.
'You are aware also aware of your contact procedure with the Office which you appear to choose to ignore.'
Yes Cllr Lowe I am very aware of how I am treated differently from all other members, I have not ignored this
and sent my request to inspect the minutes via email. I finish this email with a reminder that I wish to
visit the council chamber at 11.00 am this morning to inspect the minutes.
From
Martin Brookes
Cllr Martin Brookes Libdem
Oakham South East Ward Councillor
13 Willow Crescent
Oakham
Rutland
LE15 6EQ
Tel: 07508060962
