http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10773873.Angling_society_reaches_for_lifeline/
COUNCILLORS have voted against plans to demolish the harbourside clubhouse used by Weymouth Angling Society.
They recommended the club be offered a new 10-year lease for its Weymouth inner harbour site.
Anglers celebrated the outcome of the vote after the meeting but said the future of the club was not secure until a final decision was made at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee next month.(Dorset Echo 22nd October 2013)
Who actually runs Weymouth and Portland Borough Council? Elected members or the "officers"?
The council’s harbour management board (elected members) voted to renew the lease for 10 years, but the "officers" (un elected and un accountable) have decided that this is not a good idea and that their recommendation of a short term lease renewal should be passed.
A similar situation existed on a council of which I was an elected member some years ago, in that for many years, officers had enjoyed a position of bringing their recommendations to council meetings and having such recommendations passed "on the nod".
Within a short space of time after local elections had resulted in a intake of new members who did not share the view that being a Councillor was a glorified club membership which involved no more than passing recommendations from officers, having a free lunch and claiming their expenses, did the relationship change.
Within a few days of the election, the officers of the council were made very aware, (sometimes quite dramatically) that it was their function to implement policy and it was the responsibility of elected members to produce policy.
Elected members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council should remember that they are elected to serve the community, not just endorse officer recommendations.
Weymouth Angling Society reaches for lifeline as Council Officers reject Management Board decision.
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| Supporters and members of Weymouth Angling Society welcome the vote on 22 October |
They recommended the club be offered a new 10-year lease for its Weymouth inner harbour site.
Anglers celebrated the outcome of the vote after the meeting but said the future of the club was not secure until a final decision was made at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee next month.(Dorset Echo 22nd October 2013)
Who actually runs Weymouth and Portland Borough Council? Elected members or the "officers"?
The council’s harbour management board (elected members) voted to renew the lease for 10 years, but the "officers" (un elected and un accountable) have decided that this is not a good idea and that their recommendation of a short term lease renewal should be passed.
A similar situation existed on a council of which I was an elected member some years ago, in that for many years, officers had enjoyed a position of bringing their recommendations to council meetings and having such recommendations passed "on the nod".
Within a short space of time after local elections had resulted in a intake of new members who did not share the view that being a Councillor was a glorified club membership which involved no more than passing recommendations from officers, having a free lunch and claiming their expenses, did the relationship change.
Within a few days of the election, the officers of the council were made very aware, (sometimes quite dramatically) that it was their function to implement policy and it was the responsibility of elected members to produce policy.
Elected members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council should remember that they are elected to serve the community, not just endorse officer recommendations.
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