Firstly, can I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and prosperous New Year, look I know it's a little late, but in common with what seems to be 60% of the population, I've had the wretched flu bug that is going around and the last thing you can do if you get it is to sit in front of a computer putting your thoughts into any sort of order. I think I'm on the mend now, so if you see me in the street, you don't need to walk down the other side muttering "unclean" under your breath!
Quite a lot has happened since my last blog, the most controversial event probably was the announcement that there would be a public consultation regarding the possible closure of the library in Shepton Mallet. I have made the point repeatedly that cuts to public spending are inevitable due to the dire state of the country's finances. Somerset County Council for example has to find annual savings of £70 million in order to balance the books, and when you consider they will have to pay some £36 million next year to service the huge debt left behind by the Lib Dems, you can see the problems they face.
I do however think that closing our library is a step too far, and I will be making representations in the strongest possible terms that we need to find a solution that does not include the closure of our facilities. I am reassured to learn that the consultation process is genuine and that no final decisions have been made so far, the next few weeks will be crucial for everyone involved to ensure that they get their representations in so that they can be taken into account.
Our Town Council meeting on Tuesday evening was an interesting excercise. It was encouraging to see a larger than usual contingent of members of the public in attendance, some even made valuable contributions to the discusssions, what was enlightening however, was the fact that some of our Labour, Lib Dem and Independent councillors tried to get together to force an increase to the council tax.
The majority Conservative group on the council has been very prudent with tax payers money during the recession, to try to ensure as far as possible that there is no need to increase taxes during times of hardship. The Conservative groups at Mendip and Somerset Councils have acted similarly and as a result have ensured there have been no significant increase in tax during the period. Shepton Town Council has built up its reserves to protect itself against a rainy day, and now as the rain is pouring on our heads, we can afford all of our commitments without any increase in tax.
Our opponents however, took the view that no matter how tough things are, it is always the right time to squeeze even more taxes out of the hard pressed public. They didn't even have a coherent plan as to where the extra money was to be spent, merely that we should increase our reserves even further, just in case we want to spend even more of your money for you in the future.
It is just like trying to cure an alcoholic by giving him a bottle of scotch, our Labour and Lib Dem opponents are addicted to debt and tax and the only cure for both in their view is more debt and tax. Sometimes I despair.
Fortunately the Conservative group stood firm against this assault on your finances and there will be no increase in the town precept next year, I'll leave it to our opponents to try to justify their position, I am comfortable with ours.
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