Ghostrider Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 So, the SIC have (sorta) decided to stop supplying them out of the cost of our Council Tax. The rights and wrongs of that however are a whole other debate. The point I'm trying to make here, and which the SIC has remained very tight lipped on so far, is that the Committee meeting which has proposed the end of the black bag giveaway was held on Wednesday 23rd April. In previous years they've always come round with the bags each year near the end of March or early in April, which should have meant everybody should have gotten bags for this year, but they didn't, and folk haven't. Or have they? Has anybody gotten ones this year? There's none been round here I've been aware of.....have we Ness folks been discriminated against? Assuming no bags have gone out this year, there are a few possible scenarios afoot here, none of them exactly wholesome. The bags are usually ordered sometime around Christmas time, so either they ordered them as usual, and are now sitting on a stock of at least 546,000 black bags worth an unspecified amount but probably somewhere in the ball park of £20k, hoping they can unload them on joe public at it would seem from the vague info supplied, at a cost £7.00/104 - Good Luck with that SIC, given that Tesco sells 100 (albeit poorer quality ones) at under £2.50. Alternatively, the bags were never ordered this year, as somebody "forgot" to do it, and this last minute appeal to the Council to discontinue supplying them on the grounds "savings" is a cover up for that cock up. There is of course the other possibility why they may never have been ordered for this Mar/Apr, but we'll not go there as it would be suggesting that democracy no longer exists, and that the lunatics really are completely in charge of the asylum..... Sooo.....If there's any Councillor out there reading this, d'ya think you could see your way clear to enquire at the full council meeting which will be asked to rubber stamp the Environment and Transport Committee's recommendation to stop supplying the black bags. Were any ordered for the distribution which should have occured 2-3 weeks before the meeting that first considered terminating their supply? If so, is stockpiling such a number rather than distributing them one last time, then only ordering in smaller amount to meet demand a sensible way to make a "saving". And if none were ordered, why? As following the democratic process, they should have been, and should have been delivered weeks before the elected members were recommended to cancel the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 They state that they intend to sell them for £3.50 from sic premises and rural shops! That suggests they have been ordered or going to be ordered. What riles me is that a decision not to distribute was taken before the council moved to stop supplying, I wonder how they pre-empted the outcome? I don't object to having to pay £3.50, but I would think that will likely only happen this year if they have them in stock. Next year, well I'll not hold my breath. I had to buy my wheely bin and if I now have to buy the bags, the essy men will not be able to lean in the bin and pick up the bags, they will have to attach it to the truck to empty it as I will just be dumping everything in it as it goes without bags. When this council stops cutting services and starts looking at the over paid and over staffed departments, I'll maybe start taking them seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urabug Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 We could get a few surplus wheelie bins fae Orkney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiboy Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Twot it wid hav come oot wir council tax? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 "Good Luck with that SIC, given that Tesco sells 100 (albeit poorer quality ones) at under £2.50." I could be wrong but, I believe that local wholesalers will sell you 100 good quality large bags for about £5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Twot it wid hav come oot wir council tax?Nope, they need that to pay seat polishers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelsup Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Twot they(SGov) had capped our council tax? Surely to keep to the spirit of this any cut in services would de facto merit a corresponding decrease in said tax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 What I wonder is why, if the council has to make cuts, they did not completely stop supplying black bags instead of reducing the allocation to one roll per house. And why are they now mucking around with selling black bags?. If our councillors cannot decide on something this simple then I wonder why they were elected. Direct rule from the Town Hall or Edinburgh or Strasbourg might be cheaper and more efficient. Girzie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redrobbie99 Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 Welcome to oil rich Shetland awash with cash yet they cant afford to hand out a few bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 Soaring house prices, Ofgen block new power station, School staff paid triple time, Roads maintenance underfunded, 100 new jobs at Sullom Voe, Superfast Boardband, Our Islands Our Future campaign, Erik Gray Centre replacement, Bullmull tidal power scheme, Domestic abuse on the rise, Knab AHS site redevelopment...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 Soaring house prices, Ofgen block new power station, School staff paid triple time, Roads maintenance underfunded, 100 new jobs at Sullom Voe, Superfast Boardband, Our Islands Our Future campaign, Erik Gray Centre replacement, Bullmull tidal power scheme, Domestic abuse on the rise, Knab AHS site redevelopment......And your point is ?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 I find it strange that the council can suddenly find plenty of money to pay school staff tripple time, ( if the above comment is correct), yet they remove the free black bags, now I wonder what one cost the most? This is another case of the council spending vast amounts on staffing and poor management, whilst constantly removing services from the general public. Does anyone actually manage these managers, where is the illusive chief executive, does he actually exist, and if he does could he please start rattling some heads together, because, whilst I fully agree that cuts need to be made, I am sick to the back teeth of getting less and less services provided by a bloated council who seem more interested in keeping their over staffed empires then serving the public. Sorry for the rant, but I am getting fed up with the arrogance and stupidity that seems to have taken over our local authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvercloud Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 Hi, I thought teachers were paid a salary, so they don't get extra for working a bank holiday I could be wrong. If it's a Shetland bank holiday why were the children at school, if it was not a Shetland bank holiday why pay the teachers extra? Siccar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulb Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 its the support staff not the teachers. however what other council staff were working. why not just give this lot of black bags out as there is no saving there. they bought them they may as well use them. and why 3 times the normal wage the nhs you would need to be working a night shift on a bank holiday to even get double, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGHR Posted April 29, 2014 Report Share Posted April 29, 2014 Twot it wid hav come oot wir council tax? Sorry for being a twot, but I'm fairly sure the council tax isn't hypothecated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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