How Argyll & Bute works: the community fights back

Last night over 40 people attended a hastily convened meeting to discuss the shenanigans going on in the council over the way they are handling the impending budget crisis for Argyll & Bute.

The cuts from the Tories will be passed on to the Scottish Government in due course and perhaps as much as £37m will be cut from Argyll & Bute’s budget over the next several years. The process set up by Cllr Walsh is secret and doesn’t publish papers or minutes. There was a good exchange of views last night and it was agreed an open letter would be sent to Cllr Walsh today. That letter is pasted below.

This is an open letter which will be published on the web and has been copied to the Dunoon Observer and Oban Times.

Cllr Walsh, there was a public meeting attended by over 40 people yesterday evening in Dunoon.

This was held  to discuss the budget issues the council faces and the secret manner in which the Service Choices project board operates where there are no papers to councillors not on the project board and no minutes. You as chair have also insisted on anything being discussed by this group stays secret within the group.

There was a unanimous view last night that the whole Service Choices process should be conducted in public. The view was clear: the process has to be brought into the full council process of published papers, minutes being issued and meetings open to the public. Your administration’s secret and undemocratic process needs to stop.

Will you agree to this please Cllr Walsh?

Thank you

Michael Breslin

Independent Councillor, Ward 7 Dunoon

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