Residents of Smalltown and Dullbridge have extended their demand for the Headmistress and Mayor of Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) Town Council to do the decent thing and resign, but have also called for the Deputy Headmistress and Mayor to join her in detention.
The latest calls follow the revelation that, not only has Mayor Cllr Kelsey Dullard been holding secret meetings and deciding the outcome of Council matters without the input of other interested parties, but the Deputy Mayor Cllr Sherry has been doing exactly the same.
Both Councillors have been accused of acting without authority to make decisions and it is believed that both believe that their civic titles of Mayor and Deputy Mayor allow them to do as they see fit, without seeking the approval of their fellow councillors.
In the case of the decision to appoint Consultants to advise on the future of the White Elephant Enclosure it has been noted that this item has never appeared on an agenda for discussion and therefore Cllr Sherry has been accused of “not having the slightest idea how these things work”.
Whilst it has been noted that none of the Councillors elected in May 2022 had ever attended a Council meeting in their lives before taking up their appointments, all should have read and digested the Electoral Commission publication ‘Being a Councillor for Dummies’. However it would appear that this has not been case, as it has become apparent that none of them have a clue.
Previous SaD Town Council meetings have seen the Smalltown New Administration Guru (SNAG) step in to remind Councillors that matters on the agenda should be followed in the order in which they appear; that items need to be proposed for approval before a vote is taken; that if an amendment to the proposal is required then that should also be subject to a vote to agree the change; and to advise them who can actually vote; amongst other schoolboy errors.
Often this advice has left members of the public in attendance open-mouthed at the attempts to ignore due process, as most of them have been attending Council meetings for a very long time and know all the correct procedures. These mistakes have also left Squire Teflon shaking with mirth at the incompetence of the BeFuddled Party.
The position of the SNAG, Katie Global, has also been called into question. Previously employed as an ‘Acting SNAG’ for a Town Council even smaller than SaD, commentators are asking if she is still merely playing the part of being a SNAG, rather than actually making a proper job of it.
“Smalltown resident Arthur Sixpence said “Town Council meetings have now gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, and this Town Council is not fit for purpose. The whole lot of them should go.
Why on earth hasn’t the SNAG informed the Mayor and Deputy that their role is only to cut ribbons and drink tea? They do not have the right to unilaterally approve anything. The Smalltown Head Administrator Guru (SHAG), Tanya Summer, would never have allowed this sort of carry on on her watch.”
Questions have also been raised about the identity of the Consultants brought in to help Councillors understand what the WEE is and have also queried the process that was followed prior to the appointment, with some residents questioning whether the role has been given to the previous Smalltown Culture and Arts Manager, Debby Karmary.
Penny Farthing said “Gawd help us if it’s her. She didn’t know what the WEE was when she worked there.”
Meanwhile, Cllrs Dullard and Sherry have been keeping a low profile, with neither of them appearing in the local media for at least six days.
The Smalltown Beach Cleaning Group even managed to do a Beach Clean without Cllr Dullard appearing in any of the photos. Instead, that honour fell to the group’s leader, Friend of the Mayor and the person chosen to help decide the fate of the tree on the corner of Vicarage and Barrow Road, Prue Weeds.