Why are we waiting?

It has been seventeen days since the draft accounts of Folkestone & Hythe District Council were meant to open for the residents of the district to inspect.

As of this morning 17/08/22, the notice of delay on the Council’s website still says:

the public inspection period that should have commenced on 1st August has been delayed while work continues to complete the draft accounts for 2021/22. A further notification will be published as soon as the draft accounts are available for inspection.

The question is how long before they open and residents are allowed to use their statutory rights to inspect how the council have spent the money. Well that’s like asking, how long is a piece of string. The Council give no indication when the draft accounts will open for inspection, and we’ve asked – Are the Council Cooking the Books, not once, but twice.

If that wasn’t enough, the procurement card data still has not been published in its entirety. On the 25 July, so twenty four days ago, the Council released 2020/21 and 2021/22, there is still another six years worth of data to be released. According to the Transparency Code, this data was meant to be released every quarter starting from April 2014, but of course it has taken the council more than eight years to get around to publishing just two years worth of data. Make of that what you will.

Finally, we wrote about four members of staff being suspended for contract and financial irregularities. Each of the are awaiting a disciplinary hearing, but while on suspension they are in receipt of full pay. Given Mr Wallner was suspended in March 2022, he has been in receipt of his salary for nearly six months

One understands the need to be thorough, but nearly six months of pay at taxpayers expense is rather a lot, when these matters could have been dealt with more efficiently.

What the three issues set above demonstrate is a lack of ability to meet deadlines. What they also demonstrate is the failure to prepare, for as the they say “Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”, but of course, we’ll leave you to decide if that is the case.

The Shepway Vox Team

Dissent is NOT a Crime