Glad I don't live in the Argyll And Bute council area

[islaydarkblue]

I take it, it hasn't went Doon well with the locals?

You would assume so but a lot of the locals are frightened to put their head above the parapet preferring to discuss local issues such as this ridiculous 10% increase in the Argyll and Bute council tax in case somebody speaks about them.
It was lazy journalism by BBC Reporting Scotland interviewing residents in Helensburgh about the 10% increase in their council tax.
Helensburgh is the most affluent part of the Argyll and Bute Council area with Argyll and Bute Council having spent £57 million in Helensburgh.
Argyll and Bute Councillors need the council tax paid by the residents of Helensburgh who live in large houses paying the higher bands of council tax from Band E upwards to subsidise other parts of the Argyll and Bute Council area.
Helensburgh which has the highest population of all the towns in the Argyll and Bute Council area is only in the Argyll and Bute Council area to justify Argyll and Bute being a separate local authority.
In my opinion Regional Councils in Scotland should never have scrapped and replaced with local authority council with these local authority bosses being paid £100k plus salaries.
Regional Councils throughout Scotland should be immediately reinstated with all the local authority councils such as Argyll and Bute Council and Dundee City Council scrapped.
There is no need to have District Councils as with modern technology such as emails it is a lot easier raising complaints and concerns directly with council staff or reporting pot holes etc on Council websites.
This would result in getting of all the ‘dead wood’ and incompetent local authority councillors who are retired and getting an extra salary in addition to their pension or are unable to do a normal job and have become a local authority councillor instead.

[islaydarkblue]

Which part of the Argyle And Bute Council area is within walking distance of Cleppy Road?

I do not recognise the name Argyle and Bute Council.
For your information it is Argyll and Bute Council.

[islaydarkblue]

You posted lately that you stayed in Dundee

On occasion I live in Dundee.

[jdfc]

On occasion I live in Dundee.

So one of these two property people, we holiday home up north, I’d raise council tax 50% for they houses

[Returnofrros]

I enclose a list of all the Argyll and Bute Council Councillors salaries and expenses for the 2022/23 Council Tax year. https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/sites...%202022-23.pdf
The Argyll and Bute Councillors which represent the Kintyre and the Islands ward including the island of Islay are
Councillor Robin Currie
Councillor Dougie McFadzen
Councillor Alastair ‘Bob’ Redman.
Councillor Currie who was interviewed on BBC Reporting Scotland last night regarding the councillors voting in favour of raising the Council Tax by 10% is Leader of Argyll and Bute Council and he has the highest expenses which gave him a combined total of salary and expenses totalling over £53,000 during the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023.
Councillor Robin Currie has been an Argyll and Bute Councillor for over 25 years and he has done nothing to improve the infrastructure and services on Islay bringing them up to date.
His expenses are lower than they were pre Covid as during the Covid pandemic Argyll and Bute Council managed to hold all their council meetings by video conferencing with Councillors sitting in their home instead of them all traipsing to the Argyll and Bute Council HQ at Kilmory which is next door to Lochgilphead for Council meetings.
Yvonne O’Donnell who is the Policy Lead for Education ( also known in other local authorities as the Education Convenor) salary and expenses were over £30,000 during 2022/23.
Around 2016 I sent an email to Councillor Yvonne O’Donnell complaining about Minard PS which had only one pupil and was costing the Argyll and Bute Council taxpayers about £100,000 per year to keep it open.
I received a one paragraph reply from Councillor Yvonne O’Donnell which contained two spelling mistakes and she managed to spell both the Christian name and the Surname of the Argyll and Bute Council acting Head of Education incorrectly.
You could not make it up.
Minard PS has subsequently closed as their one pupil was spending most of its school day at Furnace PS which is about three miles along the A83 from Minard.
Councillors in every local authority throughout Scotland do not require any qualifications to be elected as long as they represent the political party which is likely to be elected in their council ward.
In my opinion every local authority councillor should stand as an independent councillor which would mean that they would have to decide what is best for the residents in their own Council ward instead of voting on party lines with the ruling group of councillors on Argyll and Bute Council voting for this 10% council tax increase.
Councillor Robin Currie and Councillor Alastair ‘Bob’ Redman are members of the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors.

I ken I shudnae like this but I just do.

[Deeranged]

I do not recognise the name Argyle and Bute Council.
For your information it is Argyll and Bute Council.

Wow, I made a minor error, but you knew what I meant so who cares?

Of all people to start the spelling police nonsense with you should not have started that with me.

[Deeranged]

In my opinion Regional Councils in Scotland should never have scrapped and replaced with local authority council with these local authority bosses being paid £100k plus salaries.

What does that part mean? Is it another language that I don't recognise?

[Deeranged]

I enclose a list of all the Argyll and Bute Council Councillors salaries and expenses for the 2022/23 Council Tax year. https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/sites...%202022-23.pdf
The Argyll and Bute Councillors which represent the Kintyre and the Islands ward including the island of Islay are
Councillor Robin Currie
Councillor Dougie McFadzen
Councillor Alastair ‘Bob’ Redman.
Councillor Currie who was interviewed on BBC Reporting Scotland last night regarding the councillors voting in favour of raising the Council Tax by 10% is Leader of Argyll and Bute Council and he has the highest expenses which gave him a combined total of salary and expenses totalling over £53,000 during the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023.
Councillor Robin Currie has been an Argyll and Bute Councillor for over 25 years and he has done nothing to improve the infrastructure and services on Islay bringing them up to date.
His expenses are lower than they were pre Covid as during the Covid pandemic Argyll and Bute Council managed to hold all their council meetings by video conferencing with Councillors sitting in their home instead of them all traipsing to the Argyll and Bute Council HQ at Kilmory which is next door to Lochgilphead for Council meetings.
Yvonne O’Donnell who is the Policy Lead for Education ( also known in other local authorities as the Education Convenor) salary and expenses were over £30,000 during 2022/23.
Around 2016 I sent an email to Councillor Yvonne O’Donnell complaining about Minard PS which had only one pupil and was costing the Argyll and Bute Council taxpayers about £100,000 per year to keep it open.
I received a one paragraph reply from Councillor Yvonne O’Donnell which contained two spelling mistakes and she managed to spell both the Christian name and the Surname of the Argyll and Bute Council acting Head of Education incorrectly.
You could not make it up.
Minard PS has subsequently closed as their one pupil was spending most of its school day at Furnace PS which is about three miles along the A83 from Minard.
Councillors in every local authority throughout Scotland do not require any qualifications to be elected as long as they represent the political party which is likely to be elected in their council ward.
In my opinion every local authority councillor should stand as an independent councillor which would mean that they would have to decide what is best for the residents in their own Council ward instead of voting on party lines with the ruling group of councillors on Argyll and Bute Council voting for this 10% council tax increase.
Councillor Robin Currie and Councillor Alastair ‘Bob’ Redman are members of the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors.

Reference the bold and underlined bit above. Did Yvonne O'Donnell use any commas in her email to you? Commas are that little thing just to the left of the full stop on your keyboard. I find them really useful for separating words, phrases or clauses written in sequence. Without commas long sentences or paragraphs become quite difficult to read, makes them look like nonsensical rants.

Oh, wait a minute........

,,,,

[islaydarkblue]

I ken I shudnae like this but I just do.

I have more information regarding yesterday’s Argyll and Bute Council meeting.
There was an alternative motion on the table which would have frozen the council tax for 2024/25 with no redundancies.
Argyll and Bute Council have tens of millions of pounds squirrelled away in the Council coffers with more money being squirrelled away in the Council coffers during the 2024/25 financial year thanks to the unnecessary 10% increase in council tax.
The Leader of Argyll and Bute Council Councillor Robin Currie spoke for over 30 minutes justifying why there should be a 10% increase in the Argyll and Bute council tax with his administration colleagues nodding away like donkeys.
Councillors Currie and Redman who are members of the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors councillors voted in favour of the 10% increase in the council tax. It is not difficult to work who the rest of the ruling group of councillors are because they are listed on the enclosed list of Councillors expenses.
Late this afternoon I sent an email to Shona Robison Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Deputy First Minister advising about the alternative motion which was on the table to freeze the council tax with no redundancies which was defeated by two votes.
I also told her that Argyll and Bute Council had tens of millions of pounds squirrelled away in the Council coffers.
I suggested that she should bring the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors to book and ‘persuade’ them to change their mind and vote for the alternative motion on the table which would still have resulted in no redundancies and a council tax freeze.

[Deeranged]

I have more information regarding yesterday’s Argyll and Bute Council meeting.
There was an alternative motion on the table which would have frozen the council tax for 2024/25 with no redundancies.
Argyll and Bute Council have tens of millions of pounds squirrelled away in the Council coffers with more money being squirrelled away in the Council coffers during the 2024/25 financial year thanks to the unnecessary 10% increase in council tax.
The Leader of Argyll and Bute Council Councillor Robin Currie spoke for over 30 minutes justifying why there should be a 10% increase in the Argyll and Bute council tax with his administration colleagues nodding away like donkeys.
Councillors Currie and Redman who are members of the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors councillors voted in favour of the 10% increase in the council tax. It is not difficult to work who the rest of the ruling group of councillors are because they are listed on the enclosed list of Councillors expenses.
Late this afternoon I sent an email to Shona Robison Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Deputy First Minister advising about the alternative motion which was on the table to freeze the council tax with no redundancies which was defeated by two votes.
I also told her that Argyll and Bute Council had tens of millions of pounds squirrelled away in the Council coffers.
I suggested that she should bring the ruling group of Argyll and Bute Councillors to book and ‘persuade’ them to change their mind and vote for the alternative motion on the table which would still have resulted in no redundancies and a council tax freeze.

Is your comma button broken?