As I have learnt from eight years of dealing with Sutton Council, both as an employee and as a taxpaying resident, trying to get a straight answer out of its leadership is like finding hens’ teeth.
But an answer I received recently from the Lib Dem councillor in charge of street cleaning was nothing short of breath-taking.
First, a bit of background: when an election looms (as it does in May) the Council’s Lib Dem bosses quickly invest in visible improvements like additional street sweepers on short-term contracts.
This has the effect of boosting services residents see in the run up to the election, and after the votes are counted and whoever elected, the services vanish because the contracts end.
Like many residents in South Sutton, the state of the streets after the recent adverse weather has been appalling.
This includes dangerously slippery wet leaves and blocked drains leading to flooding.
And having caught whiff of the fact that the Council had decided to employ a number of street sweepers on a six month contract (conveniently ending shortly after the election in May), I decided to ask a question on this topic.
So I asked a question at the Council Meeting on 9th January. The answer from the Lib Dem councillor responsible for this service, Jill Whitehead, was that residents should get bags and do it themselves!
Never mind receiving a service for the council tax we pay.
It did not end there, as her fellow Lib Dem councillor Janet Lowne chimed in saying I should collect bags from her.
Needless to say my jaw dropped when I heard these eye-wateringly arrogant answers to a simple question.
And this is what I pay my council tax for?
Jason Hughes; Conservative Councillor Candidate, Sutton South ward
What do you think? Leave a comment below or send a letter to: letters@suttonguardian.co.uk.
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