Borough Life Supplement Appendix N Budget Challenge Feedback
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Appendix N Budget challenge feedback Borough Life supplement On 7 November the council launched its new resident publication, Borough Life. This included a full-page article detailing current council spend and asked citizens for their views on meeting our budget challenge. This was distributed as a supplement in the Oldham Evening Chronicle and Oldham Advertiser, with separate deliveries to houses who didn’t receive those newspapers. The supplement also ran in the Oldham and Saddleworth Extra free newspapers and copies were distributed to libraries, community centres, council offices and through PACT and District Partnership meetings. Overall, we had 15 responses using the feedback form from the supplement, which is down on last year’s number of 100. Citizens were also signposted to the council’s budget challenge web pages where they could also submit their money saving ideas. Question one: Which council services are the most important to you and your family? Budget Challenge Feedback 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 ' l d n y n n e s d d s l r a r n g o o i c o n o n e i i e s a u , c u t s l t l a n c r a i l e i o a l c g i o s c r i , t e a s c e a r o u i i h b s n r t k r o y c e t h v s i e c l e d t r i l i n S e l f t u l r r a e i r o r S g o u d n u e i r g t a o e l l , e P n h a o a C L c o e i e r n u m d s r s t v i u s e r r o i C b t l o e P n , b d e p m d g i r p g h R e y d a n n e e e e A L o g r i a a v D e t p R e e a s K l s n p c Where do you think Oldham Council could be more efficient? Staff The work or play salaries - should not be paid their salaries when sick like the rest of the Oldham Population. I’m sure that sickness would decrease if these payments were axed. Councillors Halve the number of Councillors and not have a Mayor. By Councillors showing the way and taking a 5% reduction in their expenses and also the Chief Executive. Clean, safe and green Resisting the urge to spend thousands of pounds on flowers and shrubbery. I think street scene could work more with the pay back to community people. Perhaps the pay back community people could replace agency staff saving money if possible. Halve the number of street lights after midnight. Don’t have large flower pots on lamps and central reservations on roads. Street sweeping. Leaves from Valley Rise trees, those on Derwent Drive and the passageway leading to Langden Close are blown onto Trent Road and if garden paths when wet these leaves become a slipping hazard and Trent Road should be swept frequently whilst trees are shedding leaves to avoid accidents. Removing all the leaves on paths front and rear of Otley Close, Chadderton. Also the snow and ice. This is an OAP area and is very dangerous at these times. Buildings and facilities Utilise existing vacant council buildings i.e. Town Hall, old Chadderton Library/baths. Lot of wasting money – electricity – outside car parking lights on many Council buildings – community centres etc. On unnecessarily. Highways Repair roads and potholes quicker. It takes months from reporting them to get them fixed. Remove humps and resurface Park Road – its appalling. In making sure people from outside the Borough are guided to the town centre shopping area during extensive road works. By stop spending money on daft pavement bollards for a start. Metrolink The Metrolink is an unnecessary expense as there is a great lack of shops now in Oldham to attract shoppers. By getting rid of Tommy Tram (Metrolink) costing an absolute unnecessary fortune. General Ensuring money spent wisely. Cutting down on fraud and ensuring checks are made on where money is going so it goes where it is intended and most needed. Keep your noses out of private enterprise matters that having nothing to do with you. The amount of money wasted on the Oldham Athletic fiasco since the Council originally bought the ground is a scandal that needs fully Page 2 of 14 Consultation Feedback Report investigating and reporting on by the District Auditor – less than 2% of residents have any interests in OAFC. Increase support for local voluntary groups Though the above selections are far from the Council’s most vital tasks, at this point they are our most important services. This will change over time. Cutting any of the Council’s services is an impossible task. Public online ideas forum On 12 September the council launched an online ideas forum on its website. It detailed current council spend and asked citizens for their views on meeting our budget challenge. Overall, 587 views of the page were recorded and 55 ideas were submitted, which is up on last year’s number of 30. This year residents had the opportunity to rate each of the ideas on a 5-star rating basis. The feedback is as detailed in the table below. The average rating and number of ratings is also below. Suggestion Av. No. of Rating Ratings 1. Have some resident involvement (active residents) on District partnerships 5.0 2 and area action teams. It is frustrating when members of the public are not able to speak at DP meetings especially when they know the information they are discussing is wrong or being used for the councillors self gain. If representatives don't get involved in the communities (attend meetings etc) how do you know what residents want or what is actually happening and represent them? Most councillors want/need to get into their communities every week, not just before voting day. All ward councillors should attend community events, meeting etc as much as possible and let the residents speak and have an opinion. Not dictate! 2. Does Oldham need a Mayor? Scrap the Mayor of Oldham. We do not need a 5.0 5 mayor although for the councillors who take it in turns to be mayor this will be a letdown. Having a mayor costs the council money and is wasteful of council funds. I know that the mayoral car is rented but that didn't stop the vehicle being used by the last Liberal council leader and the Chief Executive for a trip to a five star hotel away day to discuss, (of all things!), saving the council money. We had a vote some while ago to discuss whether the mayor should be elected by the Council or the local electorate. Unfortunately there was no option on the voting form for "Abolish the position of Mayor". Time to do it now. 3. Libraries Close a couple of the small Libraries, why do we need so may in 5.0 3 Oldham. Five have been closed in Bolton. That way permanent staff can be used more instead of casuals. All I ever see when I visit Oldham Library are casual staff, I like to see and speak to people who are always there and know what they are doing and have the knowledge that is required to work in a Library. Also why are Libraries open so late and Sunday's as well!! 4. Management Reduce the amount of managers. It is the ordinary staff that are 5.0 8 gotten rid of and there is always too many managers. Also ask the staff where savings can be made they are after all the ones that see where changes can be made. Why are staff never asked! 5. We out of touch passive chosen cllrs know what’s best? Stop kidding the 5.0 2 Page 3 of 14 Consultation Feedback Report Suggestion Av. No. of Rating Ratings public that you will consider their suggestions, the public overwhelmingly at meetings in the civic said they wanted area committee to continue you completely ignored them and brought in district partnerships gagging the public?. 6. Stop free access to computers/internet in all libraries. There could be an initial 5.0 2 free period of one hour and then use a sliding scale of charges. Other authorities do this so why not Oldham? 7. Saving money now and in the future Save money by not providing interpreters 5.0 2 for people who cannot speak English free of charge, they should be made to pay. Do not plan hairbrained ideas like clocks on the floor or musical pipes that have never worked. 8. Stop wasting money on advertising in the paper about what people do and 5.0 2 don't want .the council should be spending money on things that benefit the entire borough and not any one group. 9. Actually involve local people in decision making rather than using existing 5.0 2 poor involvement mechanisms To set up a citizens panel recruiting members of the local public to help make decisions around budgets. However these citizens are not just hand picked un representative middle class people but should be sourced from a diverse section of the community and should have the responsibility of going out to the communities they represent to gather views.