The first of the meetings to be held by Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) Town Council to discuss which of the All-New-Yet-Unimproved Somerset Cuonty Council services residents want to pay for will be held today at the Porland Community Hall in Dullbridge.
The need for SaDTC to raise their share of Council Tax comes after the BeFuddled-controlled ANYUSCC revealed that they’ve spent so much money encouraging residents to be green and issuing diktats about the dangers of drinking alcohol, being careful around fireworks, the benefits of reusing plastic cups and how to cut down on cardboard, that they no longer have any cash left to pay for essential services.
SaD Town Councillors will be at the meeting to explain exactly how much money they will need to fleece from residents if they still want their bins emptied, potholes repaired, to take a walk in a park or continue to live.
Currently, ANYUSCC are in such a financial mess that no one is sure which services SaDTC residents will need to pay for, and it is highly unlikely that the views of residents will be taken into account anyway, as the BeFuddled-controlled SaDTC will want to support ANYUSCC by taking on anything and everything, especially as Dictator Dullard is said to be greatly looking forward to getting her hands on as many local schools as possible.
Deputy Dictator Sherry is also believed to be interested in SaDTC acquiring more entertainment venues in the County, so that she can offer her experience in running the White Elephant Enclosure to other towns.
SaDTC already has enough problems of its own, having spent the maximum budget amount on Christmas Lights and Trees, considering taking over £3K from an unknown budget to fund the rescheduled Festival of Bangs and Crashes, also considering spending £10K on artwork for Smalltown Seafront, as well as desperately wanting to move from Hayloft Road to the old school in White Elephant Street.
Amounts are already proposed to be spent on many of Dictator Dullard’s favourite pet projects – the Young Person’s Council (where the Dictator would like to bribe young people to attend by giving them medals), a second Climate Rescue Action Plan (CRAP) Festival, the Dictators Annual Ball, and any other party she can dream up.
Then there’s the ongoing White Elephant Enclosure – last year SaDTC dipped into reserves so that the full cost was not passed on to residents, this year the WEE is estimated to make a loss of a minimum £150K, which means that a similar sum must be found for the 23/24 budget.
Meanwhile ANYUSCC are expected to want SaDTC to increase their portion of the precept by a sum equivalent to five White Elephant Enclosures.
Difficult questions and decisions will need to be made – a task which is likely beyond the capabilities of SaD Councillors, who are expected to just agree to everything, because it is easier than getting off the fence.