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33 Million of Cost/Savings Per Annum


icepick239
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No it wasn't. There was a 'construction period' allowance paid for that purpose which has long since gone. The Island allowance is, I believe, a national agreement paid to help offset the higher cost of living. It is not unique to the islands. I believe there is also a London weighting allowance paid to reflect the higher cost of living there.

 

That said, i'm not arguing against scrapping it! Just clarifying the position.

 

Thanks for clarifying, if its a national arrangement, who sets the level of uplift?

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Cuts in the council wage bill (and expense claims) from the top down would be my preferred option.

 

I agree.

 

Lets say, for instance, that the SIC needs to make 20% of across the board cuts, then the first thing, before anything else is even discussed, should be a 20% wages cut for the top 20% of council employees.

 

Only when those making the cuts have demonstrated that they are willing to proportionately share the pain, can they have the moral authority to impose that pain.

 

:lik:

 

(Similarly, if the pain means job cuts, then it must start with cuts at the top, and work it's way down, never bottom up.)

No No No!. If a council worker is getting the right rate for the job then it is not fair to cut that persons wages by 20%. Certainly not when there is surely a better way to cut wages at the top. Find all those who are not doing a good job and sack them.
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look at battery powered ferries large up front cost windpower the charge of them

reduce the roads service and planning dept

both are overstaffed looking at the time and ammount of people its taken to ditch out around us

sub contract road works no Ni tax hols island allowance and no doubt twice the work done with half the workforce

reduce planning officers no more plans coming in for sheds small extentions etc they must be sat on their hands

stop posting skip lists in shops (stop flytipping from local handymen etc)

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The problem with most of the cuts being proposed is in the short term they sound good but in the long term there are many factors that a lot of people seem to be ignoring.

 

For example you go on about hiring outside contractors for the roads maintenance works. This would be fine if outside contractors did work to the same standard as the council road men. notoriously over the last well 17 years at least the council will have to go round and fix what private contractors have done wrong (costing the council a lot of money) and this is the biggest issue with going for some private firms.. you get what you pay for just like if you buy your clothes from tescos instead of erm say river island (im no fashion victim so pardon me if i picked unsuitable stores :P) Cloths from Tescos are more than adequate but you don't get any long term life expectancy out of them for simplicity.. leading to a false economy

 

In short Council road men = a good 10 - 15 years generally before future maintenance becomes a serious issue. Cheap contractors = 3 - 5 years before maintenance issues arise

 

Have to look at the roads around town at the moment that had services put in them by companies that have now gone bust and the council has no way of claiming money back to go and fix the state they are in now. Thus costing the tax payer even more money to repair the dodgy workmanship left behind.

 

I'm not saying Rolls Royce is the way to go but either is Cheap as Chips

 

I believe this analogy can be said for all services and I'll happily leave to others to work out what the fine balance is ;oP

 

Cheers fae moi

 

Edit: i should add that these contractors that have left the roads in a poor state of repair have usually been hired by private companies such as Hydro and Scottish water not the council

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No it wasn't. There was a 'construction period' allowance paid for that purpose which has long since gone. The Island allowance is, I believe, a national agreement paid to help offset the higher cost of living. It is not unique to the islands. I believe there is also a London weighting allowance paid to reflect the higher cost of living there.

 

That said, i'm not arguing against scrapping it! Just clarifying the position.

 

Thanks for clarifying, if its a national arrangement, who sets the level of uplift?

 

There isn't any 'uplift' - it's been frozen at the current level for many years

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The road sweeper sweeps up and down the roads of Lerwick all times in the week and twice on the morning of the same day that the essie kert comes. If the roads were swept once a week, just after the EK, that should save some money, on wages and fuel. Every week.

 

Very good suggestion and one that should go in formally to the Roads department

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The road sweeper sweeps up and down the roads of Lerwick all times in the week and twice on the morning of the same day that the essie kert comes. If the roads were swept once a week, just after the EK, that should save some money, on wages and fuel. Every week.

 

Very good suggestion and one that should go in formally to the Roads department

 

That would have to go hand in hand with a litter campaign. The upshot is any that is not cleared up blows into the sea. They sweep the street because folk are happy letting them, that is, they throw food waste and other waste when they have done with them. I would imagine the gulls would have a good time with 1 x week cleansing.

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How much is covered by the scarab?

 

The question should be asked why it is used daily? Then suggest an alternative. If there is a valid reason, it may be cost effective. It will have an affect on more than just use this forum,

 

I look forward to the answers.

 

What you could ask, under FOI is how much litter is collected by the scarab, and is there a need to start to force the rubbish collectors to be more careful and not spill, also an education package for the leaving of rubbish in the highway for collection, perhaps fines if they do not do enough to stop the gulls distributing their rubbish.

It does seem to be that the rubbish is the fault of people. hmmm.

 

I used to hear the sweeper most mornings over the week end when I stay on the street in accommodation, Sundays was special, scarab and gum removal. Now, why does the gum need cleaning off the streets, ah, an eysore for any visitor off a cruise liner, as they only appear (on here) to arrive on Sundays, with the shops shut, they could play dot to dot and make loverly shapes, distracted only by the Tesco bag that is caught on the radio dish for the cameras rustling in the gentle breeze, red and yellow tins rolling by in said breeze like tumble weed, until they get stuck on some kebab vomit, mind, they gulls would have had the vomit away. Of course the fag reek from the twister of tabs formed in those wee corners.

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There isn't any 'uplift' - it's been frozen at the current level for many years

 

Sorry, maybe I should have been clearer.

 

I meant the allowance itself, someone suggested it was a nationally agreed allowance, so who then decides how much above the national average it costs to live in Shetland - someone in Westminster?

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Edit: i should add that these contractors that have left the roads in a poor state of repair have usually been hired by private companies such as Hydro and Scottish water not the council

 

Then surely it is the company who hired them that are liable for the repairs.

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There isn't any 'uplift' - it's been frozen at the current level for many years

 

Sorry, maybe I should have been clearer.

 

I meant the allowance itself, someone suggested it was a nationally agreed allowance, so who then decides how much above the national average it costs to live in Shetland - someone in Westminster?

 

Found this issued by the Scottish Government aimed at NHS (the allowance is paid to NHS and Government departments as well as Council employees) Different rates for each Island group and seems to suggest Shetland got no increase.

 

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/pcs/PCS2010(SCIA)01.pdf

 

Might have to type the URL manually, the brackets seem to muck up the link.

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Yesterday a contractor started ripping up the play park beside my local school. Since they have put things like site huts there I presume this means new equipment will be going in. Should add that this is a school that is probably on someone's hit list for school closures.

 

But aside from school closures I am left wondering why a play park for a handful of kids needs replacing at whatever cost per kid and even if it did need replacing when the council is trying to save money (which leaves me wondering how come the kids were playing on it on Tuesday) I also wonder why a contractor is doing the work rather than the council's own workforce who, I presume, will be facing redundancy as council cuts start to bite.

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Park upgrades tend to be on a rotor. The money for this may have already been allocated and a contract in place. The cost of getting out of the contract may not make it viable to do so. The best place for the real answer is the Dept. of the Council responsible for this area (not the place). Ask there.

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