This weekend a past Oakham Town Council Mayor / Chairman said
"Almost everything you say about Oakham Town Council is True, you just put it across in the wrong way that's what I don't like"
I am not sure which is the correct way, to put across to the people Oakham they have possibly a corrupt or incompetent Clerk and Council.
I have tried raising the issues with the principal authority Rutland County Council and nothing has been done. Although the monitoring officer Geoff Pook has said the same as the past Chairman, he has not taken any action. He is happy to sit back and allow Councillors past and present to pile on the complaints against me at a cost running into possible tens of thousands of pounds to the tax payer. The Councils have in the past even roped in Leicestershire Constabulary in an attempt to shut me up.
Abusive letters and threatening telephone calls became the norm. The Deputy Leader Terry King had the cheek to write to me in May and tell me I am disgrace. If any one is a disgrace its him and his team Headed by Roger Begy and assisted by Helen Briggs, supporting Oakham Town Council and past members with their disgusting campaign to cover up all that is wrong with Oakham Town Council.
So if what I am saying is correct why is no one doing anything to take action to rectify the situation.
Standards complaints are not going to make me go away. The Tax payer deserves better from this Town Council. Standards complaints may make me think twice about calling Cllr Alf Dewis an arse hole, even though the past chairman agreed his behaviour towards me was unacceptable and I was pushed into calling him something he is. I will stick to referring to him as a bully instead because that is what he is and will save the tax payer any further costs.
We now have number of new members who need to take action and some are starting to take notice and question procedures often questioning the Clerk about the same issues I have raised in the past. Surely they can't all be bullies Richard? Lets hope you don't swear at them.
I raised the question of the Chairman's / Mayors expenses last week after the Clerk told the full council in the past this had not been correctly accounted for and would be from now on.
The Chairman of the Council Cllr Joyce Lucas has been very flippant when I have asked questions giving responses like "I will have you know I was £350 out of pocket last month"
This weekend she wrote to a Councillor saying I see you are joining Brookes's camp, their response was they and I require accountability and offered their resignation if we did not get it. Resignation is not the answer.
The past Chairman told me expenses have been exploited by most past chairman's. Then they went on to say they had accounted for their expenses when they could?
They said it was not possible to account for all expenditure, "because if I attended a charity event you don't get a receipt for the ticket price or for the raffle tickets I bought"
(They went on to say "I did not hold a civic reception like the others because I could not justify spending £5,000+ of tax payers" Lets hope for the tax payers sake Cllr Joyce Lucas does not hold a civic reception.)
I find the lack of receipts a poor excuse, the invitation to a charity event (or in the case of Cllr Joyce Lucas a copy of one of her begging letters asking why she was not invited to an event) would prove a payment was made, often around £25 - £50.
I would be interested to know why past chairman's felt it was correct for the tax payer to pay for their raffle tickets, If any of them won any prizes what did they do with that prizes?
