LETTERS From Simon Rhodes, Niton:
Every year I dutifully, like so many others, pay my council tax.
Recently, like so many others I have wondered what I get for it, the answer — ineptitude, incompetence, inconsistency and waste of tax payers’ money.
I list some examples below:
• Roads that melt in the sun, fall apart and, due to years of mismanagement, are the worst in the UK.
• An inability to make water flow down drains as anyone who travels around the Island by road knows.
• An education system that ranks at the bottom of national league tables.
• An IW Plan, only adopted in March 2012 and which, no doubt, cost a small fortune to develop, was rubbished by the recent planning committee decision not to allow another wind energy development when in the plan it commits to it as a power source.
• A truly laughable planning committee and a planning department and buildings regulators who seem to excel in making things difficult for those who deal with them.
• Mismanagement of the waste issue for years until at long last they woke up to the benefits of recycling as a way of minimising landfill.
• Continual hugely expensive employment of consultants to advise on matters that they should be competent enough to deal with themselves. After all, what is so complicated about rubbish that they need consultants to advise them?
• Littering the countryside with daft signs to tell you where you are, often right next to road signs, again costing us nearly £40,000.
• Dreaming up ever more complicated and nonsensical job titles for employees.
• Harbours at Ryde and Ventnor that have hardly any water in them and stink the towns out.
• Selling off or giving away what was part of public property because the council can’t operate it properly (botanic gardens, and now talk of even view point car parks, etc.)
• Road closure notices for the Olympic torch relay on July 14 appearing in the County Press on Friday, July 20?
Can we really trust them with the PFI roads project? I cannot but feel there is a catch somewhere and taxpayers will be lumbered with massive costs as all other PFI contracts seem to have gone sour.
I am sure there are some very good and capable people that work for our council but they seem to be buried under a smelly pile of mediocrity.