SaDTC contravene the Local Government Act

Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council has called an Annual Towns Meeting, which is due to be held at 7pm on April 18th at the Porland Hub.

A spokesperson for SaDTC said “Come and see what Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council does and meet your Town Councillors,

The Mayor will give her annual report and the public has the opportunity to ask the Town Council questions.

Please advise the Smalltown Administration Guru (SAG) of any questions you wish to put to the Councillors, in writing 7 days prior to the meeting.”

However, there appears to be some confusion, as the Annual Towns Meeting is NOT a Council meeting. It is a meeting of the town electors – people on the electoral roll. Requesting that residents send in any questions they wish to ask 7 days in advance of the meeting is a clear contravention of the Local Government Act 1972.

Under the terms of the Local Government Act, whilst the Town Meeting may be called by the Town Council (it doesn’t have to be, electors are also permitted to call such a meeting), they do not have the authority to set the agenda, nor do residents have to submit questions beforehand.

In essence, anyone who is eligible to vote is also eligible to ask any question they want to during the meeting, this means that any matter not on the agenda can still be discussed, unlike during a Town Council Meeting where only items included on the agenda can be considered.

In order to further attempt to stifle members of the public from debate SaDTC plan to start the meeting off with a lecture from the Mayor who will no doubt drone on and on about where she has been, what she has been doing and how many cups of tea she has consumed. This will be followed by a presentation by Somerset Police Force and SaDTC has also invited representatives from various town groups, clubs and organisation to fill some time detailing their own activities.

In this way it is hoped to ensure that any time left for questions from residents – which is the main purpose of a Towns Meeting – is kept to a bare minimum.

It iis currently unclear whether the entire SaD Town Council were involved in this attempt to censor debate, or if it was purely the Mayor and SAG working in cahoots.

SomersetClive would like to take this opportunity to remind residents that they do NOT have to presubmit questions but are more than welcome to turn up to the meeting and ask any questions which they feel appropriate.

Councillors do not have the right to veto any subject. Whilst it may be nice for them to have a glimpse of any potential questions beforehand, so that they can get their stories straight, it is deceitful, disingenuous and downright dishonest to suggest that only questions submitted in advance can be included.

Residents are therefore entitled to ask Councillors questions such as:-

• Are the Mayor and Deputy Mayor fit for office?
• Should Councillors be allowed to make unilateral decisions, without recourse to a committee or residents?
• What happened to the openness and transparency we were promised?
• Do any of the new Councillors who make up Smalltown and Dullbridge Town Council actually know how a Council works, or what their role as a Councillor is?
• Who are the consultants employed to find ways to make a success of the White Elephant Enclosure?
• How much are they being paid?
• Does the Council feel that this is justified, given that they’ve already had ten years and spent a million pounds to make it successful?
• Do Councillors really think that the White Elephant Enclosure is a valid use of Council Tax Payer’s money?