Local Politics

[DaveR]

An elected Mayor.

[Bri Roberts]

A dictator?

.

[Merddin Emrys]

I've said it before, but it all seemed so much better in the days of the LUDC!  D)

[bigbadhenry]

So, in summary it was a monumental waste of time and money... once again?

YES 

[wrex]

We need to get our 11 new town councillors geared up to changing the town before they are dragged down by the dinosaurs left in the chamber.Our main objective should be to get them on Wrex;s xmas lights campaign before Cll Bertola tells them M&S should pay,we need to explain to them why their predissesors failed in moving the town forward, into the 20 century without destroying it and finally how to play the two Mafia councillors who always have the last say and give their evils to any councillor who dares defiey them

[Cambrian]

Not all 11 are new, some names are familiar and were on before until defeated or resigned.  Perhaps we should abolish the town council and simply have wrex as an elected mayor.

[DaveR]

What a good idea! I could be his Special Advisor. 

[Yorkie]

We are also due a co-opted Member for Penrhyn Ward.   Applications were due to be in by yesterday and interviews are on 1st June.

 ZXZ

[SDQ]

Who would the application be made to & who would do the interviewing?

[DaveR]

Did you apply, Yorkie?

[Yorkie]

Who would the application be made to & who would do the interviewing?

Application to The Council.  But now too late!   Interview by whole Council, who then vote for who they want.

Dave - no I did not apply in the end.  Sometimes one can be more effective from outside the Chamber - keep them on their toes.   I have always said that Community Councils are an inessential tier of Government and a waste of money.   Much of the "work" they do could be better managed by local groups of interested people. e.g. Town Twinning, Miss Alice, Xmas Parade, etc. etc.  The money the local Council receive could be put to better use for the Community rather than paying wages to the Staff, the other overheads and the trappings of Ceremonial such as Mayor-making and Civic Sunday.  In these days of austerity let's see what they do!    Z**

[SDQ]

Who would the application be made to & who would do the interviewing?

Application to The Council.  But now too late!   Interview by whole Council, who then vote for who they want.

So the electorate get a candidate nobody voted for? That's not very democratic....
Oh wait, we already have a government like that!

[Yorkie]

Who would the application be made to & who would do the interviewing?

Application to The Council.  But now too late!   Interview by whole Council, who then vote for who they want.

So the electorate get a candidate nobody voted for? That's not very democratic....
Oh wait, we already have a government like that!

You could have had an election for the one vacancy but, of course, it would cost a lot of pennies!  Co-option is a good alternative as in this case no one Party can get the advantage.  ZXZ

[Yorkie]

The Town Council vacancy for Penrhryn Ward has now been filled by a Glynne Davies, who is a Penrhrynside Resident.

Let's see what he is made of once he gets amongst the old Brigade!     WWW

[DaveR]

Barmouth Council ordered to publish full details of its councillors online
by Eryl Crump, DPW WestJun 29 2012

A TOWN council has been ordered to make its councillors more contactable to the public.

Barmouth Town Council’s website has the name of each of its councillors but no other details.

The lack of detail led to a complaint being lodged with the Information Commissioner.

Complainant Carl Hayward, of Llanaber near Barmouth, had wanted to contact an individual councillor but in order to do so had to first phone the council clerk who got the individual to call.


After considering the complaint the Information Commissioners Office ordered the council to adopt a policy to make the council more accessible to residents.

The town council have decided to purchase a mobile phone for the clerk and put that number on the council’s website and information boards in the town.

Last night all the voluntary and unpaid councillors were adamant they would not put their individual contact numbers or their e-mail addresses into the public domain.

Former Mayor Rob Williams defended the council’s position, saying: “We wanted details of an official from the Environment Agency recently and the council was told we had to contact that officer through their main telephone number.

“We have a contact number, the clerk’s mobile phone number.

“The clerk will contact us and as a councillor we will call back and deal with issues.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Cllr David Clay, who represents all town and community councils on the Gwynedd Standards committee, said he had raised the issue with Gwynedd Council’s monitoring officer.

“The monitoring officer seemed surprised at the Information Commissioner’s stand regarding community and town councils and would like to see the Information Commissioner’s correspondence on the matter,” he said.

The council’s website claims: “The purpose of this website is to give the general public, and in particular, the community of Barmouth, an easy and open access to the business of the Town Council.”

It adds the date and agenda for meetings are provided “together with access to the minutes for recent past meetings” but this has not been updated since April.

An internet search revealed a variety of approaches by town and community councils in North west Wales.

Only a small number of councils maintain dedicated websites and of those who do have an online presence few reveal the full contact details of all its elected members and officials.

Caernarfon Town Council have a comprehensive and up to date list of its members and officials which includes phone numbers.

Llandudno Town Council has a full and up to date list of councillors which contains only a few contact details for its members. Beaumaris Town Council lists its elected members along with a photo of each councillor but no personal contact details.

Gwynedd Council’s website includes landline and mobile numbers for its councillors along with e-mail addresses.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2012/06/29/barmouth-council-ordered-to-publish-full-details-of-its-councillors-online-55578-31284440/#.T-1tHuQ-rQw.twitter