A Key failing

TONIGHT is the night of the Call-In of the Cabinet's Decision to slash library opening hours.

I note that Haringey Council has recorded their cuts as a "Non Key" decision.

This is a clear mistake, reflecting a lack of competence, or worse. It is obviously a Key Decision,as it affects at least two Wards (which is one of the definitions of a key Decision; it has gone to Cabinet and it has been Called In).

It is characteristically sloppy. Five or six years ago, the council described the purchase of a tired empty factory in another Borough (!?) for £6.1 million as both key and non key, but in the last few months, the Decision to sell it was correctly listed as Key.

(the original, dual-description was an attempt at disguise and deceit – it was one of the nine irregular property Decisions called in for external investigation).

The council is certainly required to make cuts.

However, the decision as to where their axe will fall is a political one. Instead of any possible pleading with the council not to cut opening hours, I hope there can be a more assertive and confident approach, which would be to suggest less offensive areas where the council should consider making cuts.

Such as: reducing waste and huge redundancy payments, shelving unwise spending, cutting continuing bloated budgets and not least, slimming the top heavy council administration, with 40 staff paid between £100 and £200 thousand per annum. The annual pension contribution of one director alone is more than the annual salary of an experienced librarian.

Is this fair?