33 Million of Cost/Savings Per Annum

[getaba1110]

This is not about buses, gritters, street lights etc, etc, etc.

 

It's about the mountain of unecessary "services" and positions("officers") that have been created within the SIC.

 

They can try as best they want to skirt around and avoid it but until they face facts and cut that, we're doomed.....

 

I wholeheartedly agree!

[owre-weel]

The simple truth is they haven't really cut anything. They've kloored from what's left of the frontline but the machine(tiers of management + unecessary services - Road Safety Officer??) is still in place.

.

 

Yip, I think it would be interesting to see a list of the job titles, currently employed by the SIC. I'm sure it would make interesting reading.

[paulb]

bet they would need to employ a manager or two to provide that.

[owre-weel]

bet they would need to employ a manager or two to provide that.

[Urabug]

Is it not a fact that we would encourage our families to go through colleges & universities ,hopefully to qualify with an ology,only for them to discover that when they do ,there is no job.

 

Is this not where councils have stepped in & created many highly paid jobs for those lucky enough to have gained these ology’s

 

The problem now is the country cannot afford to keep them on & I do not think many of them are looking for pick & shovel work !

 

Probably what we really need is more apprentices who do mind getting there hands dirty rather than academics who sit at desks probably unnecessarily , never the less still need a job.

 

What a dilemma many highly qualified folk & no enough money to keep them all in work .

 

Where would they go if they have lose there job ?

[unlinkedstudent]

The simple truth is they haven't really cut anything. They've kloored from what's left of the frontline but the machine(tiers of management + unecessary services - Road Safety Officer??) is still in place.

.

 

Yip, I think it would be interesting to see a list of the job titles, currently employed by the SIC. I'm sure it would make interesting reading.

 

The blame doesn't solely lie with local authorities though, and they aren't alone (Just look at the NHS). Legislation be it from national government or the EU has dictated positions/roles such as Equality and Diversity Officer, Data Controller, etc. However, it wasn't always necessary for LAs/NHS to create new roles but in some instances they could just have incorporated the workload into an existing position, which some of the more prudent LAs/NHS Trusts have done.

 

Edit: And using SIC as an example, isn't their Data Controller also the Head of Legal?

[daveh]

Many hundreds of thousands of public sector non-jobs were created nationally by the Labour government in order to get the headlines from reducing unemployment figures and to keep the unions sweet.

 

The current governemnt in Westminster now has the problem of tring to tackle the problem whilst Labour stand back criticising every single expenditure cut across all departments.

 

In Shetland, the total percentage of people employed in the public sector out of the total population is clearly unsustainable. hence my earlier suggestions of combining some functions with Orkney council so that they can be centralised with some in Lerwick and some in Kirkwall. Such centralisation of functions happens throughout industry and commerce and there is no reason why it can't be done in this instance.

 

If the SIC are truly intent in getting this done then this is the way to go; no excuses.

[getaba1110]

Many hundreds of thousands of public sector non-jobs were created nationally by the Labour government in order to get the headlines from reducing unemployment figures and to keep the unions sweet.

 

The current governemnt in Westminster now has the problem of tring to tackle the problem whilst Labour stand back criticising every single expenditure cut across all departments.

 

In Shetland, the total percentage of people employed in the public sector out of the total population is clearly unsustainable. hence my earlier suggestions of combining some functions with Orkney council so that they can be centralised with some in Lerwick and some in Kirkwall. Such centralisation of functions happens throughout industry and commerce and there is no reason why it can't be done in this instance.

 

If the SIC are truly intent in getting this done then this is the way to go; no excuses.[/quote

 

 

These ideas, re-combing functions, must have greater exploration e.g. port and harbour operations; including tugs & ferries...both islands must be doing similar shore side administration tasks. We cannot afford to ignore these suggestions.

[fusion]

The SIC budget is here

 

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/MuckleJoannie/SICBudget201213.jpg

 

do i read that right that the CE department has made no savings?

[oxna]

Here's a novel idea - the only way to stop the overspend is to stop overspending. If it was a private enterprise that would be an easy concept to get to grips with wouldn't it?

[Urabug]

[OXNA ]----Not as simple as you might think .

 

Employment Law, union opPosition ect.

 

Easy to hire someone ,not so easy to fire someone !

[Spinner72]

These ideas, re-combing functions, must have greater exploration e.g. port and harbour operations; including tugs & ferries...both islands must be doing similar shore side administration tasks. We cannot afford to ignore these suggestions.

 

As mentioned before in one of the many "cuts" threads - this sounds good until you actually think about it. If you combine a full time admin post in Shetland with a full time admin post in Orkney, you have two posts to fill. If one person can do what two are currently doing then that is a time management issue.

 

The comparisons with Orkney simply don't add up, care homes is the most dramatic, they run 3, likewise they only have one comparable leisure centre etc. So again, when you think about it properly, we are almost certainly getting more per employee than Orkney's public do.

 

Here's a novel idea - the only way to stop the overspend is to stop overspending. If it was a private enterprise that would be an easy concept to get to grips with wouldn't it?

 

Private companies don't have the pressure from the public though. Thats where the change really needs to happen. No point in complaining that the council need to get things sorted and then opposing all the proposals put forward...

[Colin]

Private companies don't have the pressure from the public though. Thats where the change really needs to happen. No point in complaining that the council need to get things sorted and then opposing all the proposals put forward...

 

A very poorly presented point.

Private companies don't raise Income Tax, VAT, Council Tax etc. and either have to get rid of excess employees or, raise prices.

The Public, on the other hand, are not obliged to buy their products whereas we are all obliged to pay our taxes.

 

I have said for years that we have a very high spending local authority which has been run by people who have no concept of 'value' and have allowed various departments to expand well beyond their optimum capacity.

 

We also have a public whose levels of expectation far exceed the funds necessary to maintain them.

 

[FLAME PROOF SUIT ON]

Shetland is seen nationally as a 'soft touch' for renegades, reprobates and, runaways. The cuts should start there and, should be deep and savage. Lets start looking after our own first.

[/FLAME PROOF SUIT OFF]

[daveh]

A very poorly presented point.

Private companies don't raise Income Tax, VAT, Council Tax etc. and eitheror, raise prices.

 

Very poorly presented also.

What do you mean by suggesting that private companies " don't have to get rid of excess employees and/or raise prices"?

Of course they shed staff. In fact, quite regularly in recent times.

Also. the power companies are privately-owned and they have certainly been raising their prices.

[shetlander]

Still at £80K a day...how did it get to this? Why didn’t we put the brakes on earlier!

 

Because in the face of public opposition, the councillors of the last two + terms didn’t have the balls to make the cost cutting decisions recommended by their officials. If they had, the council would be in a better financial position than it finds itself in now.

 

It's about the mountain of unecessary services and positions that have been created within the SIC.

 

I agree with you to a point - but the numbers employed in schools, on ferries, in care centres and the like are still way in excess of what they used to be and (I’d bet) more than in comparable councils elsewhere. Just have a look at the School Service Annual Return (available online) and count the numbers employed in schools (as well as at Hayfield House) if you want to see what I mean.