Notebook by Bill Heaney
They are top of the league of shame for bullying their employees. Victimising people by making their life difficult in the workplace and then illegally sacking them at a cost of around £1 million to the public purse during a cost of living crisis when cuts to services are commonplace.
And feathering their own already comfortable nests by voting through 21 per cent rises for councillors and offering three per cent to the long suffering men and women who work for them.
And paying a spin doctor £130,000 a year to issue press releases and take calls about uncolected bins, which reflect only their own version of the actuality.
It’s no surprise either that they are taking us back to the dark ages when folk who failed to pay their rent and rates had their names added to lists of shame that were made public. It’s no surprise then that poor people who cannot afford to to meet their recently hiked council tax bills are being threatened and frightened into finding the money from somewhere, anywhere. Even from money lenders. Or when they are having to use food banks to feed and clothe their children and use chits from charity shops to buy them shoes. And it’s the same again for heating their homes and having hot water for a bath of a shower. We are back to the days of the parish council, of people “living off the parish”. Charles Dickens couldn’t write this stuff, but it is happening here in Dumbarton and the Vale and West Dunbartonshire, where councillors and officials are filling their boots while children go hungry.
Am I out of step? Do I deserve to be banned by them for telling the truth? Or asking to have the sound turned up at their meetings so the public can hear and keep reliably informed of what’s really going on at their meetings in Church Street?
Here’s what some members of the public think about them:
Margaret Mcmillan: “West Dunbartonshire is a bloody mess even with people paying the council tax so where is the money going not on the roads or pavements or getting cleaned?”
Róisín Áine Kelly: “And what about the fact some people don’t even receive the letters because you didn’t bother to actually send them?
“Stop contributing to public debt and actually work with the community to help people get out of poverty. You can’t get blood from a stone!”
Angela Clark: “They are scared can’t do anything if everyone refuses to pay. It’s control, this is why cash is so important and people should use it and not their card.”
Natalie Muir: “Biggest scam going fraud council tax for services we barely get.”
Lorraine Kielty: “No compassion or consideration for people. More money wasted to send out this crap.”
Lynda Hannah wrote: “This is to coincide with their huge council tax increase of 11.5% and btw in Scotland from April Scottish water has announced 9.9% increases across the country, Scotrail will increase fares by 3.8%, energy bills are set to rise by 6.4% when Ofgem increase the price cap yet again, mobile phone and broadband bills are set to go up, varying by provider and TV licence is increasing by £5 to £174.50 per year.
“This is daylight robbery of the working class and a transference of wealth into the hands of the bosses. We need to get out and protest!”
Hazel Mills says:”Bullying at its best. Who do they think they are!”
A final word to the wise for Council leader Martin Rooney and his colleagues from Michelle McDonald:
“And how are people going to pay this full balance, considering with all the hikes they can’t even afford to put food on the table, or pay the monthly instalments.
“The stupidity is incredible. Jog on….. this will be another failure WDC and we look forward to an apology re this.”
Don’t expect any kind of apology soon Michelle. The Council still haven’t apologised to the disabled man they bullied and victimised at a cost of £1 million to the local public, who are continually being told by the council spin doctors they are skint.
They may be, just like the rest of us, be hard-pressed for money, but they are far from skint when you look at their salaries.
It makes you ashamed to tell people you come from West Dunbartonshire.