The saga of the Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) Town Council Christmas Trees rumbles on after it emerged that a kind-hearted and community-minded resident of the towns had offered two FREE Christmas Trees to SaDTC.
BeFuddled Councillor Jim Rabbithole, who had been against spending the astronomical sum of money agreed by SaDTC Councillors for trees in the first place, was keen to take up the offer and approached his fellow Councillors and the Smalltown Administration Guru (SAG), Katie Global to get agreement.
Unfortunately, he was informed that the decision to award the contract had already been made and, under the Town Council’s Standing Orders, the matter couldn’t be discussed again for a further six months.
Whilst this is true, it is also possible for Councillors to vote to suspend Standing Orders before discussing an issue again. However, there was no appetite for this amongst his fellow BeFuddled Councillors or the SAG, all of whom felt it was far too much effort just to save £7,000.
Cllr Rabbithole asked the SAG if he could possibly have sight of the Christmas Tree Tender Requirements and details of the procurement process, in an attempt to understand where it had all gone so horribly wrong and why a £3,000 previous tree cost had more than doubled to £7,000. But Ms Global told him that she wasn’t prepared to share that information.
When even a Councillor isn’t permitted to see important details regarding financial matters it does lead to questions over how ‘Open, Honest and Transparent’ SaDTC really is.