I'm not sure if this is old news, but a piece in the paper refers to a consultation on the future shape of the West Berkshire leadership model. I was under the impression that the Strong Leader model had already been recommended for adoption??? This is a slight change to the current model, which means the leader of the council would be elected for the four year term, rather that being elected each year by the council.
The Lib Dems seem to favour going back to the committee model, which personally I think is outdated and adds a lot more red tape and length of time it takes to make decisions. I'd like to see an elected mayor and cabinet. Thoughts>?
I'd like to see a return to something like the committee system - the council officers run rings around the Portfolio holders. Perhaps a committee would view more of their proposals with a bit of healthy scepticism. At the very least there should be an oversight committee monitoring each portfolio.
I'd like to see a return to something like the committee system - the council officers run rings around the Portfolio holders. Perhaps a committee would view more of their proposals with a bit of healthy scepticism. At the very least there should be an oversight committee monitoring each portfolio.
Surely we don't need more costly bureaucracy and red tape?
Wow, something we agree on!!! I just remember the old committee sytems taking absolutely ages to get anything done!!!
While now everything is decided by unelected officers and rubber-stamped by their tame portfolion holder. I'd like a little more democracy and a lot more openness - which public meetings of committees would give. Since the committees disappeared everything has gone on behind closed doors.
That's maybe something to do with the competence of members!!
Partly - but, to be fair, they are part timers trying to control a professional paid £60k a year or so with plenty of staff to back them up. And the councillor still has to earn a living at the day job.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
I agree with this - but I disagree with your solution. I think that oversight of the actions of the officers is more likely to be accomplished by sharing the load amongst a committee of councillors than a single part time portfolio holder.
But surely if the leader has a vision and each portfolio holder has a protfolio to oversee, those officers and staff should be working as directed by the portfolio holder. What happens at West berks is the Chief Exec and Officers run the show.
You make it sound like some religious happening which could well be rewarded by a sainthood.
I doubt for one moment that the council leader had the Vision for Newbury. It would have been started, promoted, designed, put together by WBC staff and then the councillors would have been told what a good idea it was, Then a councillor who has no building, town planning or civil engineering qualities would have been handed the portfolio, given a few quid extra a year and got their face in the NWN bending down laying the last cobble in the market place and taking the flak if it went wrong. The prime example of this was Mrs Bale's performance at the vision conference when she obviously had only the basic idea of what was going on. What input do you think the elected council had in the funding, selling off car parks for a pound, bribing existing stores to move, failing to pay the going rate to freehold owners and businesses for their properties in order to develop Parkway. I suspect not much.
A lot of what happens in Newbury is down to the professional town planners as they have, in theory, the experience, knowledge and ability to make the plans backed up by their teams of legal eagles. We may believe that those officers ego has a lot to do with the planning but at the end of the day, we have to believe that they are up front with our elected councillors but then we have to also believe that those part time councillors have the experience to understand what is going on around them. Whatever the councillors do or don't do there are sometimes little areas of concern that escape such as why nobody on the council, as far as I know, has aked why WBC only use one architect for all their important work and don't offer the designs out to tender.
You make it sound like some religious happening which could well be rewarded by a sainthood.
I doubt for one moment that the council leader had the Vision for Newbury. It would have been started, promoted, designed, put together by WBC staff and then the councillors would have been told what a good idea it was, Then a councillor who has no building, town planning or civil engineering qualities would have been handed the portfolio, given a few quid extra a year and got their face in the NWN bending down laying the last cobble in the market place and taking the flak if it went wrong. The prime example of this was Mrs Bale's performance at the vision conference when she obviously had only the basic idea of what was going on. What input do you think the elected council had in the funding, selling off car parks for a pound, bribing existing stores to move, failing to pay the going rate to freehold owners and businesses for their properties in order to develop Parkway. I suspect not much.
A lot of what happens in Newbury is down to the professional town planners as they have, in theory, the experience, knowledge and ability to make the plans backed up by their teams of legal eagles. We may believe that those officers ego has a lot to do with the planning but at the end of the day, we have to believe that they are up front with our elected councillors but then we have to also believe that those part time councillors have the experience to understand what is going on around them. Whatever the councillors do or don't do there are sometimes little areas of concern that escape such as why nobody on the council, as far as I know, has aked why WBC only use one architect for all their important work and don't offer the designs out to tender.
No Brian, I meant the leader of West Berkshire should have a vision of what he / she would like to create in their four year term. Nothing to do with the "Newbury Vision"!!! Sorry
No Brian, I meant the leader of West Berkshire should have a vision of what he / she would like to create in their four year term. Nothing to do with the "Newbury Vision"!!! Sorry
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