Wednesday 14 November 2012

Filming on the Agenda


The agenda for next Monday's Executive Board meeting has been published and a packed programme it looks like too. 

The highly inadequate proposed pilot to record full council meetings is up for approval, and according to Kev at the last council meeting, this will be supported. What is less clear is whether the recommendation for the Council to 'allow' filming of council meetings by members of the public will also be supported, I shall be at the meeting so will let you know how it goes. If approved then the report will be sent to full council for deliberation.

Other delights on the agenda include Plaid's Motion to support Unison's call for a 'Living Wage' for the lowest paid council workers (doesn't sound promising according to the report), and also the Council budget for next year which will support the 'Living in Luxury Wage' for senior Council officers.


The budget will not be fully approved until February 2013. The main report (like last year, badly formatted, you have to scroll down) contains the details of the cutbacks, job losses and increased charges proposed over the next couple of years. Included in the report is £218,000 to be generated from increased parking charges and the removal of sixth form transport from the 1st September 2014. Forty jobs within council run care homes will go as the service is 'reviewed' and around £400,000 saved each year through, I suspect, closure of homes. Outsourcing the leisure centres is also on the cards and £180,000 will be used from the revenue budget to support the Eastgate development, and the Nottingham based developers. As for the Council's latest brainwave, the 'Beacon' business hub in Llanelli, long term funding is looking doubtful, so look out for another set of council offices moving in there.


....And no decent Carmarthenshire Executive Board meeting would be complete without an exempt report. Fresh from top secret discussions on public toilets at the last meeting, Monday's will be on the 'Cross Hands East Strategic Employment Site' which is also the site of one of the called-in Sainsbury's applications. We can only guess at the contents, as no further details are provided, maybe they're going to try and explain themselves to Lord Sainsbury as to why things are not going quite according to plan.... (15th Nov, my correction; Sainsbury's relates to the Cross Hands West site, not East, although with the retailer withdrawing the Llandeilo application today perhaps the council's relationship with Lord Sainsbury is on even shakier ground)

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