From: ALLAN Sent: 10 March 2008 15:48 To: Paul Kingsley Subject: Fw:

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From: ALLAN Date: 10/03/2008 15:37:12 To: [email protected] Subject: Mansfield

Dear sir, I understand that the consultation period for comments on single wards for Mansfield has begun. As an avid reader of all public notices in the local Chad newspaper, I have seen no mention of the consultation and who to contact. I have contacted the council who tell me all the members of the council are aware of it, also notices have been posted at the civic centre and on the councils web page. Therefore if you do not own a computer and do not go to the civic centre and are not a councilor you could be unaware of the consultation. I have my own views on the whole matter. In 1974 I was a member of urban district council, local government reorganization took place. The number of members for warsop was reduced from 12 to six, this was based on what the electorial commission said was the number of constituents each member should represent, so what has changed. The present mayor wishes to reduce the number of councilors for cost reasons not democratic reasons. Warsop has two wards,The birklands ward, which has three councilors based on an area which I proposed to the council.and they accepted. The meden ward has three councilors based on an area which I I proposed and the council.accepted. Meden ward is composed of five villages. Meden vale, church warsop, old church warsop, and sookholme.the wards were proposed to the council on the basis of a set number of voters per councilor. what is the price of democracy. For example, warsop has two wards with three councilors in each ward. This has worked well since 1974, people know who their councilors are. I know you do not take into account politics, but If we had one councilor per ward,you would have no recourse to a politician of your choosing, if you had a problem, two or three councilor wards you could have three separate party politicians.The mayor says he is doing this to save money, he wants himself and about ten members to make all the decisions, what price democracy. I notice from one of your tables on the Internet that you mention, there was only about four questions from members at full council, the reason is under the present constitution at Mansfield, when a portfolio holder presents their report, members are not allowed to ask question at council meetings and are told reports are for information only, so the question is ruled out of order. What price democracy. My back ground is I was an urban district councilor at warsop 1967 till 1974, then a district councilor at Mansfield from 1983 until I retired at seventy in 2003,. I was vice chairman of planning for ten years, at all meetings be they committee or full council any member of any party could ask any question on reports at any time.so compare the number of questions asked over the last ten years. They are no longer allowed which is why the number is so low If the council was to go to single member wards,i.e. Dividing present wards, voters would have no idea who their elected member was, I would like to be involved. in any consultation as I have been involved in councils both in Scotland and Mansfield all my life.

Yours faithfully Allan Mclean